


The Lich King's Ascension

by ReaperofBalance



Category: Warcraft III, World of Warcraft
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:47:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 82,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22897468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaperofBalance/pseuds/ReaperofBalance
Summary: "My name is Arthas Menethil and I am the Lich King... or I suppose emperor would be fitting as well. The world as you may know it, does not exist. A man came and changed the rules of my rise to power and I assumed control of the Scourge and the Burning Legion before taking Azeroth and Outland as my kingdom. This is the story of my rise to power and domination of the world." (New telling of Warcraft 3 & Expansion before moving into WoW).
Relationships: Arthas Menethil/Jaina Proudmoore, Arthas Menethil/Sylvanas Windrunner
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	1. Setting the Stage

**Hello people! This is my first Warcraft 3 Story.**

**Anyway, as stated in the synopsis, this world will be different than the one that occurred in the game. There will be the same events and order but now things have changed because certain people have taken different routes as Arthas traveled his path of vengeance leading him to becoming the Lich King’s champion.**

**Lastly, if my timeline is off then I apologize but it doesn’t matter that much to me. I am making Arthas’s grandfather be king around his mid-20s 100 years before the plague rose in Lordaeron. From Warcraft 3, Arthas’s father seems older than he would be if he had Arthas at a young age and Arthas appears around 24-28 so I figure Arthas’s father was around 50-65 when the plague hit.**

**Lastly, if you do not know what some characters look like then please google them and find a picture you like. If the image is not from my own head then I usually suck at describing the appearances.**

**So, let’s begin.**

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Warcraft, Blizzard, or a great many things that will be in this fic except for some OCs.**

(Author’s Notes)

“Speech”

_“Thoughts”_

_‘Language other than common’_

_(Mental conversations)_

**“Non-Humanoid (humans, orcs, elves, trolls are humanoid) speech”**

**_“Above’s thoughts”_ **

**_‘Above’s speech in other language’_ **

**_(Mental conversations)_ **

**Chapter 1: Setting the Stage**

_Unknown location, time, and world_

_My name is Arthas Menethil and I am the King of Azeroth and Outland and leader of my creation, The Legions of Hell. My rise was ordained since before I was born and the destruction of several locations and races was a part of it. Now I rule over the dead and the living, a coalition of several different races all living and serving in my kingdom in harmony. I fought and clawed my way through over a dozen different races in my rise to power and with each soul I claimed, I gained more power. None who stood against me lived, not even my own father and one of the mentors he gave me when I was a boy. Cities, races, countries, demons, ancients, and even continents fell before me in my quest for vengeance, power, and my own kingdom._

_I was born a prince, turned into a warrior of the light, then a warrior of vengeance, to a butcher, to a rebel, to a ruler, to a conqueror, to a king, and then finally to a godlike entity. Insanity would have claimed me if it wasn’t for my top commanders along with the loves of my life keeping me sane and my natural desire to keep my subjects safe. My mentors, friends, comrades, father, and loves of my life had all commented that they had never seen a commander with the loyalty that I held with my soldiers and commanders. Through this loyalty, I had very little resistance to convincing them into following me over their rulers and people._

_All of my life, I was raised to believe that I was to be a warrior of justice, which in essence I still am, I just deal out my kind of justice. I have gained many names over time and campaigns, butcher, manslayer, corruptor, destroyer, bastard. All of these are true in one form or another and I care little for opinions as I know how the people who I care for view me._

_I owe my rise, power, life, and the love I have found to a man who arrived when my former master was charged with his mission. The man was named Damon Corvus and was called The Reaper, and I have come to recognize him as more of a father and mentor than my real ones, and he gifted me abilities that made me a juggernaut compared to others and put me at a level that only arch demons can keep up with me. The man also ensured my survival through various means and ensured I would not be corrupted to someone else’s will. I met the man four times in my life, twice during my rise, once after I assumed control of Azeroth and prepared for Outland, and once after I took the mantle of Lich King. He explained the creation and plans for me and why he did it and each time he gifted me with something to further ensure my survival and that of my captains and loves._

_My name is Arthas Menethil and this is the story of my damnation and rise to power._

_Frozen tundra of Northrend: 100 years before the plague arose in Lordaeron_

A suit of armor and a sword covered in skulls sat trapped in an ice block while a towering figure stood before it. The figure was red with burning eyes and had an aura of power surrounding him, while the armor had an aura of malice and death. These were the arch demon warlock Kil’jaedan and the cursed soul of the Orc Warlock Ner’zhul now titled the Lich King. Kil’jaedan stared down at his creation, **“You know your task Ner’zhul, you are to weaken the mortal races of this plain to allow the Burning Legion access and ease of infiltration. You now have powers over death, corruption, and necromancy. Till your mission is complete my agents, the Dreadlords, will be watching over you to ensure you complete your mission.”** His voice was similar to Darth Vader’s but more demonic and not robotic.

Ner’zhul glared hatefully at his supposed master, but without an actual body the demon lord did not notice. He was about to be defiant when a voice sounded out, _(Play the humble and loyal servant.)_ He tried to sense out the source, _(Be calm, only you can hear me and I intend to aid you in ridding yourself of your oppressor and jailors. I will speak more when he is gone, for now play the humble servant and let him believe you are too afraid to cross him. Request a champion to lead the forces that you will create and enforce the will of the Legion since the Dreadlords will not heed your orders. I am sure you will find an excuse)._

Kil’jaedan was growing impatient, **“Did you hear me worm?!?!”**

Ner’zhul was shaken from his thoughts and spoke, **“For… Forgive me. Master. It is. Difficult to. Communicate in this. Form. I meant. No disrespect to. You and your power. I will crush. The mortals and. Make way for. The Legion as you. Ordered.”** His voice was like Hades’ from Clash of the Titans, and he actually was struggling to speak.

Kil’jaedan stared at his creation for a minute before nodding, having gone through a similar process to get his powers, but he had proven his loyalty to his creator while Ner’zhul had attempted to flee and break the bargain, **“Very well worm, I will show leniency this once. Do not fail me or you will suffer far worse than you have already for attempting to break the pact.”**

Ner’zhul kept his anger in check, **“I understand my master. I humbly request that I. Be allowed. To create a champion for myself. To enforce your will. Onto my forces. And to lead them until. They are able to. Summon Lord Archimonde. I would never presume to order. Your Dreadlords and. To even consider such a. Notion would be foolhardy. Even if I was. Foolish enough to try. Your agents would never. Obey me and. Punish me accordingly.”**

Kil’jaedan, in his own arrogance, believed his servant and that he could control him with ease, **“Very well, but do not attempt to betray me or I will personally torture your soul for the rest of eternity.”**

Ner’zhul, if he had a body, smiled wickedly, **“Of course my master. Your will be done.”** Kil'jaedan narrowed his eyes slightly before vanishing and Ner'zhul then tried to sense out the voice, but was interrupted as 7 swarms of bats came and formed pale, vampire like creatures with large wings and claws standing before him. Each was wearing different colored armor and was radiating that same color, **“You are my commanders. For this task I presume? I will need to know. Your names so. That I can. Address. You properly.”**

The largest one, who was red, spoke, **“You are correct wretch, I am Tichondrius commander of the Nathrezim. With me are Mal’Ganis, Varimathras, Balnazzar, Detheroc, Anetheron, and Mephistroth.”** As he spoke he motioned to a light green one, scarlet one, purple one, putrid green one, a blue one, and a yellow one respectfully, **“Now, it is time for you to begin your task.”** His voice was deep and echoing slightly.

_(Be respectful for now, in time you will watch as they perish by either your Champion or by events caused by him. If you push them, then the minute you are deemed unnecessary they will send you back to the Twisting Nether to Kil’jaedan. However, if they can believe you serve Kil’jaedan and you then press the hatred for their enemies the Night Elves they will forget you until it is too late. Begin with sending out your power to the nearby villages to begin the corruption and claiming of this land as a base of operations. Then send out your presence to begin corrupting power hungry beings to your service, who will then spread your “generosity” to others)._

Ner’zhul, still heeding the voice, spoke, **“Of course sir. I will begin with. Finding weak minded. Individuals that I can turn. They will then aid me in. Corrupting this land and claiming it. Then I will send out my presence to. Individuals who lust. For power. And bring them here. To be converted to my soldiers. Then I shall begin the scouring of the mortals.”**

Tichondrius narrowed his eyes, while he would admit it was a sound plan, he could not help but feel that Ner’zhul was not the sole creator. He based this on the fact that when Ner'zhul was still an orc he followed brute force strategies and tactics, but now he was using strategy and plans. He finally chalked it up to his master expanding his mind slightly to ensure he would be successful (which wasn’t entirely wrong), **“Very well, do not fail us.”**

With that they vanished and Ner'zhul sensed around the room, **“Show yourself.”** A moment later a figure appeared dressed in black armor with crimson designs with a hood and mask on, **“Who are you and. Why would you aid me?”**

The figure stood there before speaking, “My name is Damon Corvus, but I am known as the Reaper. As to why I am aiding you, it is for the betterment of this world. You see, without my interference the Legion will return and will win and cast this and other worlds into darkness. You however, do not kill everything; you conquer and let live those who bow to you. I am ensuring that if this world must be conquered it is through one who will not destroy everything and ensure other worlds are safe through the fact that Outland is all that is accessible through this world’s abilities. If you follow my advice and council, not only will the Legion be undone, but its remnants and other forces will be under your command.”

Ner’zhul stayed silent for a moment and accepted the response since following my advice so far had paid off for him, **“Very well, how should. I proceed except for the obvious. Of turning different towns and. Such over to my control?”**

I grinned behind my mask, “First off there are a dozen small villages around this area that can easily be converted, after which you press on the larger areas for with each enemy that falls, and even some of your own, can rise up again to serve you. Once the local settlements are taken you can move on to strongholds and encampments as well as some of the local dragon spawning pits, but be warned there is a kingdom of spider creatures called Nerubians here with multiple entrances to the surface. They will not go easily, but you will be able to influence their king, Anub’arak, to join you and give you the weaknesses to their race and defenses. As they fall recreate them as your soldiers and they will prove their worth a hundred times over. Anub’arak will not be happy with his loss of will until he meets your champion in the future.”

Ner’zhul was too tempted not to ask, **“Who is this champion? And how will they be able to. Influence this king?”**

“When I am done here, I am going to go to his ancestor and implant in them a unique ability to rally soldiers and inspire loyalty that will not activate until your champion is born. With this ability your champion will be able to pull forces to his side and increase your forces without their deaths thereby in essence giving you two soldiers for each one he takes. As to whom they are, his name is Arthas Menethil and in less than a century, he will be born the crown prince of the Human kingdom of Lordaeron and will become second amongst their paladin ranks.”

I felt the Lich King’s shock since as an orc he had faced paladins and their leaders and they could match any soldier among the orcs and even a few demons with ease, “He will join you as he goes for his quest for vengeance because of his land being corrupted. This blade you have, once you have taken the areas of Northrend that are key you will force the blade out and send it to this location.” I then sent an image to his mind, “There, Arthas will draw the blade and submit to your will and from there he will kill Mal'Ganis because you are going to humbly request that he lead the forces of undead to draw Arthas to Northrend and force him to take up the blade. After he has become your servant give him a skeletal horse and turn him into a Death Knight.” I gave him the information of the three brackets of the Death Knight and that Arthas will fall under the unholy tier.

I could feel his delight at that, “An archmage you should pay attention to AFTER you are finished with Northrend is named Kel’Thuzad. By the time you are finished with Northrend and are prepared to move on to the next goal, he will be among the circle of Magi and will be close to several powerful individuals which will follow him to you and then they will turn others and aid your forces in pushing forward. Kel’Thuzad will be instrumental in both sides of the plan; your champion will kill him and then will resurrect him in the High Elves’ home of Quel’Thalas, with the powers of their sunwell, as a Lich who will then summon Archimonde and be one of your champion’s top commanders. After the legion has started their attack on the continent of Kalimdor, send Arthas to the area called Felwood and have him tell a man named Illidan Stormrage how to stop them by absorbing the skull of Gul’dan since he thirsts for power. He will do so and the Legion will slowly be undone and Archimonde will perish on Mount Hyjal.”

Ner’zhul listened intently as I told him events that would take place, “After mount Hyjal, Arthas will return and proceed to kill the other Dreadlords that are claiming ownership of the scourge. At some point, there will be an attack on the Frozen Throne by Kil’jaedan’s soldiers and Arthas will return and need Anub’arak’s help to reach you. He will butcher his way through the land and combine with you to create one entity.”

Ner’zhul was pleased by my explanation and was so engrossed in his fantasies he failed to notice me restricting information and that I planned to change certain things beyond what I told him. I placed my hand on the glacier and started funneling power into the blade, “This will seal Arthas’s powers into him so if the attack happens, then Arthas’s powers will not dwindle as quickly as they normally would and will reduce the risk of your death at the hands of Kil’jaedan’s troops.” _“It will also do a few extra things to aid Arthas but that is not your concern. I know full well that you will not stop at the two lands, you will crave more and unleash as many horrors as you need to in order to expand gateways to this world to reach other worlds.”_ “I am going to give you details on how to set up certain events to help push your Champion and subordinates to other events that will benefit you as well as events that could slow his progress.”

I placed my hand on his prison and sent the knowledge to his mind, “Now I shall take my leave and prepare your champion to be ready.” _“As well as a few of his major supporters”_ with that I vanished in a swirl of black flame.

 _Lordaeron (human kingdom): Capital city Lordaeron_ (Blizzard was very original with the names for locations)

I was walking through the city with three targets for here. I found the most important one, Terenas the first (Arthas’s grandfather) and moved in his direction. I approached the castle and was stopped by the guards, “I am a mage and I must speak to the king about an important matter.”

They stared at me before calling over three guards and instructed them to take me before the king. As I entered the hall, I saw a man with long dark brown hair and a beard to match sitting on a throne with guards surrounding the hall and above held representatives from the major factions, the Kirin Tor, the Silver Hammers, the Archbishop, Captain of the guard, and the war council which was made of the five surviving generals of the second Great War against the Orcs. The king leaned forward, “Speak.”

I bowed low, “Forgive me your majesty, but this matter is concerning your family and I wish to speak in private.” The king narrowed his eyes slightly and then sent away everyone while having guards by the doors. While he was distracted I sent cloaked clones after the Silver Hand and Kirin Tor representatives to find two specific people. I approached the throne, “In less than 200 years your kingdom will burn and your people will be eradicated and turned into abominations.”

He rose from the throne and appeared to be in anger, “WHAT!?!? HOW?!?” he felt his anger burning and waved the guards away when they came inside because of the yelling.

I sighed and looked upward, “The Demons will return and the only hope for your people is your descendant who will be in the midst of the fighting. I can’t guarantee the survival of the entirety of your people but I can guarantee at least 42% do as well as your allies the dwarves and gnomes, the elves will take a serious hit as well but will survive.”

He was forced to sit down as his heart was slowly breaking, “When? Tell me when so I can prepare to stop or slow the threat.”

I sighed knowing I had to lie partially, “I honestly don’t know, I recommend you enhance the guards training, funnel money into technology and blacksmithing, get more guards, and increase the training of your magi, priests, and sorceresses. If you need funds ask your people to give what they can to help defend the realm from the Orcs and any allies they may have. Remind them that you may have defeated the Orcs, but not their demon masters and they may come for their servants at any time. I also recommend that you train your children and have them train their children in all forms of combat possible, if their magically capable, press them in those arts but also press them into close and ranged combat and then stabilize those traditions so they do the same for their children.” He sighed and nodded, “I have to leave now and prepare for those who can stand up as well. I will reveal myself to the descendant that will be at the heart of this. Goodbye good king, may you have peace and security during your reign.” He watched as I disappeared in a burst of white fire.

He rose from his throne and called his guards, “I want all the chief engineers, masters of the Kirin Tor, captains, drill instructors, smiths, and master craftsmen we have to gather here immediately! I also want our emissaries sent out to our allies and inform them we are preparing for a possible war with the orcs and their masters and any aide they can give we will gladly reciprocate if needed.” His guards bowed and immediately sent out orders to their messengers.

_Northrend: 6 months after I left, outside the Lich King’s prison._

Tichondrius was meeting with his fellow Dreadlords, **“It seems that Ner’zhul is up to something and I have the sneaking suspicion that he is getting aid from someone or something. If this continues we will have to be monitoring him even closer then we have been.”** Before anyone could reply they were blinded by a flash of light and they found themselves bound in Ice tentacles and pairs of hands on their heads.

They felt their mind become fuzzy as the hands started glowing, “Ner’zhul is a coward and isn’t strong enough to pose a threat to the Legion, he would never dare to cross you. If he seems to be competent and tactical, then perhaps your master chose wisely and to doubt his choice is to doubt your master and you know how unwise that is. Ner’zhul will never be a threat to the Legion so long as you are in this world and once Lord Archimonde arrives he will be no threat whatsoever. In fact he will be so insignificant compared to the Night Elves that there will no point to pay attention to him unless he attempts something.” These words repeated themselves in their minds and then a minute later they were standing there with confused looks across their faces.

Tichondrius shook his head for a minute, **“As I was saying, Ner’zhul is progressing well in his assimilation of the native populace and has already started growing his forces by robbing local graveyards and is nearing the forces necessary to take the nearby stronghold.”**

Mal’Ganis nodded, **“That is good to hear, Lord Archimonde and Lord Kil’jaedan will be pleased to know there is progress being made.”**

Tichondrius nodded, **“Yes, also Mal’Ganis. Ner’zhul requested, and the masters approved, that you lead his forces in the human kingdom when he is ready and will lure his champion here to take the runeblade as his own and enslave his soul to Ner’zhul.”** Mal’Ganis nodded and left to oversee the forces to familiarize himself with their potential. Tichondrius then turned to the others, **“The masters also stated that if he should have to give his life to ensure their summoning then that is acceptable, but Mal’Ganis cannot know about it since he has record of fleeing a battlefield and not ensuring the enemy suffers for their victory. The masters have decided that his life is unnecessary if it means the champion will come and help ensure their summoning.”** The others nodded and dispersed to their own areas.

I smirked from my perch high above their meeting, _“Now that they believe Ner’zhul is not a threat, he will be safe for a time and Arthas will have his chance to combine with him and unlock his true power.”_

_Fast forward: 45 years later_

I watched as the Lich King’s forces swept through over 65% of Northrend and had a standing force of over 300,000 and a half dozen wyrms recreated as his skeletal constructs and was preparing to go to war with the Nerubians and had already been in contact with Anub’arak and was already plotting the areas to force the fighting to specific areas that were out in the open to gain a large amount of their forces as his minions. How to do this you ask? It’s quite simple, he is going to place explosives at the above ground areas over the tunnel junctions that Anub’arak pointed out. This will cause severe cave-ins which will kill quite a few themselves, but the Nerubians would also believe that an attack force would be coming from there and send their forces to intercept the attackers. Of course while this was happening he would be sending his deadliest fighters to the gates far to the south of Ice Crown, while barricading and blockading the upper gate with his human forces to ensure that if they did attack from the northern gate, he could revive any of the two forces that die as new warriors and drive back the invaders while also bolstering his ranks.

He also placed several mages, turned necromancers through him, which lived in Northrend, to the front lines… well directly behind the front lines so they could call skeletal warriors from corpses to attack and press the front lines harder. His plans worked slowly, but surly and with each Nerubian killed, he resurrected it as a crypt fiend and it aided his warriors in taking more dragons as his slaves by them spewing webbing over their target to force them to the ground and killing their former comrades. That isn’t to say that the undead forces didn’t take hits as well, but for every soldier of theirs that fell in combat the necromancers revitalized them as new corpses/skeletons/abominations.

_45 years later_

The war with the Nerubians lasted 10 years, but 8 years into their war the Nerubians made a grievous mistake by tunneling too far into the earth. They awoke an ancient race called the faceless ones (for obvious reasons) and were subsequently attacked by them and were now fighting on two fronts. The Lich King, having been warned of this threat ahead of time, sent his influence out and turned the Nerubians that died fighting the faceless ones and even the dead faceless ones into undead and started attacking both sides.

As the fight dragged on the faceless ones retreated to the depths and the Nerubians were pushed to the point of extinction as their strongest warriors were now attacking them as they fled to areas deeper in the earth away from the faceless ones and Azjol-Nerub was conquered. The Lich King, knowing the danger of the faceless ones, blew a series of points around the tunnel they were using and buried it under a hundred feet of rubble. He then ordered that defenses be built and stationed a standing force to ensure that they could not get out without massive losses.

With the conquering of the Nerubians done, the Lich King continued to take more lands of Northrend and create/corrupt more soldiers to aid with the only true resistance being the dragons that resided in the mountains and with the defenses that the mortal races would have as well. He was pleasantly surprised to discover another winged creature that he could dominate, they were known as Gargoyles. With relatively simple minds they were corrupted easily and aided his forces in taking more dragons as his slaves or using their corpses to create bone dragons.

He also discovered by sacrificing some of his mortal servants in certain manners would create ghostly apparitions called shades that could connect their field of vision with the other undead and were undetectable to normal means and thanks to my information, he was able to enable it so they could harm enemies but it also made them slightly weaker to attacks. So he created both types, one a pure scout type that could be harder to detect while not being able to attack and one that could attack, but was easier to kill.

Then following more information I gave him, he started upgrading his soldiers, creating new ones, and planning on taking others who could aid him in doing so. His basic fighters, known as ghouls, were upgraded to be as fast as a horse while striking with ferocity that matched any predator in the world. His necromancers grew in power and were able to summon three different types of skeletal warriors and could now summon three of them per corpse. He created a female creature called a banshee that could possess a living creature and convert their mind to serving him; this in turn made conquering villages easier by possessing the chieftain of different tribes and villages. This became a double bonus because he would send the living forces against his enemies and then resurrect them after the battle to serve him again.

He left the local alchemists, engineers, and craftsmen alive but under his influence to create new items, weapons, upgrades, and creatures for him to utilize. Thus the creation of 2 new servants, weapons, and upgrades were achieved. The first unit was created by the alchemists who were able to stitch together a mass of corpses into one living entity that they rightfully called an abomination.

The second servant came from the alchemists and craftsmen recreating the obsidian statues and destroyers from the remnants of designs, corpses, and remains of them that were found in Azjol-Nerub. The beings could shift from a statue to a full blown flying creature ready for combat. The statue stage allows them to give off an aura that can heal allies or restore there mana/magical power and launches energy attacks from the top of it. As a creature it naturally drains mana from enemies and can slow them down quickly with its ranged attacks.

The first new weapon was called a meat wagon, which was essentially a body transport and catapult that would launch corpse remnants and other items at the enemy. But Ner’zhul took it even further through some goblins that landed on Northrend’s shores and used them to convert some of the meat wagons into machinations that were similar to their shredders, but with an undead instead of a goblin and the alchemists and necromancers were able to fuse some soldiers into said machinations. It had the basic structure of a shredder but with cannons on both arms, dual shredder saws attached to the back on the creature, and claws for hands. The cannons had runes that could collect corpses, like the meat wagon, and then those same corpses could be fired out of the cannons as well as other items.

The upgrades were a plague inside all of his soldiers that when they died, or in the meat wagons’ case when they launched an attack, it would create a cloud of toxin that would infect, slowly kill, and then transform enemies into undead. The upgrade also made it so abominations were releasing a miasma of the plague thereby infecting enemies as they attempted to kill/destroy them. The next upgrade was the ability for all of his forces to be able to consume corpses, whether friend or foe, to heal them if they are not on blighted ground.

Further enhancements he was able to fabricate were buildings and items that generate a corruption, or blight as he took to calling it, that would heal his warriors and structures while being on it. He also was able to boost his presence and control to the point where he could now attempt to reach Kel’Thuzad.

_Dalaran, seat of magic in the eastern lands: Library_

An older man was sitting in the library reading through several books trying to find more sources of power and magical abilities. He had a frown on his face as he recalled how Archmage Antonidas had forbidden him from seeking out Medivh’s book and learn other arts besides just arcane, “That decrepit old fool, we are the keepers of all magic so it is within our right to study all forms. I will have power and learn new arts, even if I must leave this place to do so.”

He straightened as he heard chuckling, **_(That is good to hear young mage, for I wish to offer you a place as one of my commanders to learn the art of death and corruption)._**

He looked around the room, “Who’s there!?!?”

He heard the chuckling again, **_(Be calm mage, my name is Ner’zhul and I am the Lich King. I reside in Northrend and wish to offer you, and any that will follow you, a place in the coming new world order and grant you and them power over death and corruption. And, should you prove your loyalty, I will grant you immortality)._**

Kel’Thuzad sat there for a minute contemplating the offer. After a minute he spoke, “What must I do my Lord?”

Ner’zhul smiled, while thanking me internally for finding such a perfect servant, **_(Collect those who will follow you and come to Northrend, there one of my agents will meet you at the shore and escort you to my throne where I will bestow the powers you seek on to you and the others)._**

Kel'Thuzad stood and nodded his head, “At once my Lord.”

_Months later: Shores of Northrend._

Kel’Thuzad and around 30 priests, magi, and sorceresses had disembarked and were waiting for the agent of the Lich King to come. Kel’Thuzad had picked the different students who desired power and knowledge of other arts and those he knew also lacked a certain set of morals and ethics and were willing to sacrifice others for power. Their thoughts were all about gaining power and striking down anyone who dared to oppose them and stop their gaining of knowledge and said power.

Their thoughts were broken however when the ground erupted and a large scarab creature covered in spikes stood before them, **“I am Anub’arak, my master the Lich King sent me to lead you to his citadel. His forces can at times be, unruly.”** As he finished speaking smaller spider like creatures arose, **“Get on these Crypt Fiends, they will ensure you can keep up with me and we will not be delayed by taking the few paths there are in this land.”** His voice was deep and sounded like he talked through a fan as his voice reverberated.

Kel’Thuzad nodded and got on one of the spiders and the rest followed suit before the crypt fiends and Anub’arak took off to the north, **“Be respectful when you meet my master, or it will be the last thing you do.”** Kel'Thuzad nodded and held on tight while wondering what type of master he had gotten himself.

_Six hours later: Ice Crown_

Kel’Thuzad and the others stood before the prison, **“So you have arrived at last. Now we shall begin.”** The Lich King sent out his power and began corrupting them; they did not resist or hesitate. They absorbed his power and knelt before him, **“Kel’Thuzad, you will create the Cult of the Damned and begin the scourging of the humans. These are your orders for the future and the role you play in my champion’s creation”**

Kel’Thuzad bowed as the information of his mission both for the Legion and for the Lich King flowed into his mind. After it was over, Kel’Thuzad gathered his followers and some ghouls and sailed back to Lordaeron to begin the plague.

_10 years later_

I stood atop a tower and watched as Arthas stood before his Father, “We have reports that an encampment of Orcs is situated close to Strahnbrad and may be planning something. I wish for you to go and meet up with Sir Uther at his encampment outside of Strahnbrad’s outlying farm lands.”

Arthas saluted his father easily hefting his great hammer with one hand. Unlike other Paladins, he held no spell book under his arm and needed only one hand to wield his weapon with effectiveness, “It will be done father, I won’t fail you.”

His father smiled at him, “Just come back and fight with honor and you will never fail me.”

Arthas nodded and went to the barracks to get his most trusted captain, Falric Mortethil. Falric was an athletic built man, with short spikey black hair and had joined the royal guard shortly after Arthas joined the Silver Hands, and was immediately assigned to Arthas, when said prince was of rank to go on missions solo. Almost 100 missions and untold number of battles later, Falric wouldn’t be lying if he said he held more loyalty to Arthas than anyone else in the kingdom, the king included. After Arthas had gotten Falric and his brigade, which many had taken to calling the Juggernauts, they started heading to the stables to get mounts prepared.

I watched as they rode off, _“Go forth young warrior, go forth and begin the conquering of this world. May the authorities of this world watch over you and ensure your enemies fall. Watch out Azeroth your future Ruler has taken his first steps to claiming this land. Now, let’s see if his potential has fully awakened yet.”_ I vanished from the tower and headed towards Strahnbrad.

**And done!**

**The stage is set and the path for Arthas is set with his allies prepared to be turned. Most likely the chapters will be the interludes and missions from the campaigns as well as some of the things I throw in to keep things interesting.**

**Couple things, Yes, Arthas will have more than one girl.**

**Yes, he will have people following him into damnation.**

**WARNING!!!! Arthas will be godlike as we progress and his abilities will be changed/strengthened.**

**Also some characters will be changed slightly due to the interference of my OC.**

**Review and give your thoughts please.**

**Later everyone.**


	2. First Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthas begins his journey

**Hello all, welcome to chapter 2:** **this will cover, at least, the first two missions of the Human campaign plus any extra events, encounters, or such I throw in without completely losing the Warcraft 3 story, at least until it goes into Arthas being a better soldier/leader/butcher.**

**Now, let’s get to what y’all are all here for.**

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Warcraft, Blizzard, or a great many things that will be in this fic except for some OCs.**

(Author’s Notes)

“Speech”

_“Thoughts”_

_‘Language other than common’_

_(Mental conversations)_

**“Non-Humanoid (Demons, spirits, etc. etc.) speech”**

**_“Above’s thoughts”_ **

**_‘Above’s speech in other language’_ **

**_(Mental conversations)_ **

**Chapter 2: First Contact**

_5 miles outside Strahnbrad: Uther the Lightbringer’s basecamp_

Uther the Lightbringer, the first among the Paladins of the Silver hand, a chief advisor to the king, a war hero, a man who instilled discipline and loyalty into the cavalry of the Human race, and held the respect of the Humans, Gnomes, Dwarves, and Elves. A man so respected and feared that raiders and mercenaries would not approach a caravan if he was present. What was this man doing you ask? Well, he was getting rather annoyed that A: some of his men were complaining that Arthas was late, B: there was a decent sized Orc encampment near the town of Strahnbrad, and C: Said Orcs were planning to raid the town, “ENOUGH.” His men turned towards him, “I don’t want to hear another word about Prince Arthas being late; if he is late then he will have a good reason.”

_Meanwhile with Arthas_

Said Prince, and second among the paladins, was smashing giant spiders with his Warhammer and was getting agitated, why you may ask… Well it starts right after he left the capitol, with a group of mercenaries deciding the Prince was worth kidnapping and ransoming, which ended badly for the mercenaries as Arthas dealt with them by himself. Then there were Murlocs at a river crossing, Forest Trolls on the path through the denser parts of the forest, and now… now it was a large collection of spiders trying to bar his way by eating him and his companions. Now, he had not lost any of his soldiers since they were the toughest and strongest in all of the kingdom, but they were not invincible nor were they impossible to tire out after four straight fights, a long ride and walk, as the Murlocs had scared off the horses, and now a potentially longer fight if the Orcs launched an attack on the village.

So, he did the only thing he could do… started smashing the eight legged freaks into paste/acidic blood pools. Afterwards they pressed on and arrived at Uther’s base camp… 4 hours late. They arrived to find Uther waiting at the center of camp, “Ah, Prince Arthas. We are honored to have you among us.”

Arthas chuckled, “Save the formalities Uther, it’s good to see you.” They shared a laugh, “What’s the situation?”

Uther sat by the fire and Arthas sat across from him, “The encampment of Orcs is just over this next ridge; however our scouts report they are planning to attack Strahnbrad. I have my own plan, but I would like your opinion on the matter.”

Arthas was surprised but then started thinking, “While I am growing in strength in the light and in battle, you have the military and battle experience that matters more. I think I should go aid Strahnbrad, while you go to prepare a settlement and defenses at the Orc encampment. That way if the attack hits Strahnbrad before I can get there you may be able to intercept any prisoner transports they attempt since the Orcs recently have been taking slaves from what my father has kept me informed of.”

Uther smiled, “You’ll make a fine King one day. It is a fine plan lad, one that we will follow. My forces shall go to prepare and yours shall go to Strahnbrad. You can meet up with us when you’ve finished.”

With that, he left and Arthas and his soldiers gathered nearby supplies from the camp and began marching towards Strahnbrad. For the geography lesson, in my map of Azeroth anyway, the king’s road winds through five small farming villages before reaching Strahnbrad. As they passed through the first three there were a few farmers, who were reservists in times of war, who took up their armor and weapons and joined the march. The next two were problematic, when they arrived at the fourth, they found a woman in distress, “Someone! Please, my youngest son Timmy was carried off by creatures, can someone please save him!”

Arthas moved to the forest, before turning to his men, “Falric, get any supplies and soldiers you can while I go rescue the boy. I’ll return shortly.” His men nodded while he walked into the forest following a flattened path of grass. A few yards in, a bolt from a crossbow whizzed past his head and impaled a tree. He rushed forward and smashed a Gnoll into a tree, which broke in half as his hammer ‘Light’s Vengeance’ went through the Gnoll and smashed the tree. He turned and chanted, before calling out “Divine Shield.” a bubble appeared around him as three bolts and a net hit, before they bounced off the bubble. Arthas moved again smashing one Gnoll into another, followed by throwing his hammer into another Gnoll, and scooping up a crossbow and killing a fourth with the loaded bolt. He moved forward and took up his hammer again. He moved farther along before coming to a clearing with five Gnoll huts, three cages, around 2 dozen Gnoll trappers and brutes, and one very large and angry Gnoll Warden holding a flail, “I will say this once, release the boy and leave this area or perish.”

(For the record, I am doing the Divine Shield as it stays for a certain amount of time or has reflected a certain amount of damage from the user. It will get stronger as Arthas progresses and yes, it will become stronger than the game’s version but that is why it is not solely a time limit ability but a damage absorption ability as well).

The chieftain growled, **“Me, Steelsnout. Me leader here and me no fear puny Human. You want us leave, then you must defeat me in fight.”** He snarled as he readied his weapon and charged Arthas. Arthas moved quickly batting away the flail’s head and slamming his elbow into Steelsnout’s gut, pivoting, and slamming the base of his hammer’s staff into Steelsnout’s back.

Steelsnout tumbled into a tree before turning around just in time to raise his flail’s rod to block the hammer strike. Unfortunately, for him anyway, he miscalculated Arthas’s strength, something he discovered too late as his hammer broke through the handle and smashed Steelsnout’s chest in, just before he dropped dead. Arthas turned to the other Gnolls, “Leave this place and release the boy.”

The Gnolls, to his amazement, knelt and a trapper spoke, **“We serve strongest, you is strongest. We serve you. Maybe not today, but we serve you and obey. We leave but we not go very far, you find us when time. You call us when needed and we kill anything you wish.”**

Arthas watched as the Gnolls moved into the forest and disappeared. Arthas moved to the cages before finding the one with a small boy inside, “Help me, please, I want to go home.”

Arthas smashed the lock on the cage, “It’s alright son, let’s get you back home to your mother.” He scooped the boy into his arms and carried him out of the clearing and back into the village.

“Oh, Timmy! You’re safe. Thank you Prince Arthas, please take this along with my gratitude.” The woman handed him a gold ring and kissed Arthas on the cheek before taking her son home.

Arthas put the ring on and felt stronger, smarter, and more agile; little did he know the ring the woman had given him was a ring of superiority which boosted the natural abilities of the wearer. Arthas gathered his men, both those from the villages and his own, which now numbered almost 50, and marched to the last village. When they arrived they found it under attack by mercenaries and the reservists were struggling to hold them back, “Charge!” Arthas rushed forward before smashing three of the mercenaries with his hammer and healing the reservists with his Holy Light spell before pushing the mercenaries back and leading the forces forward. After Arthas had felled about 12 mercenaries they fled down a path through the river that divided Strahnbrad from the village, “Is everyone alright?”

The soldiers all nodded and a farmer came up, “We’re fine milord but they made off with my farm’s ledger, if I don’t get it back then I won’t be able to fill my quotas and my farm will be taken away.”

“Don’t worry; we’ll get it back for you. Let’s move.” Arthas and the soldiers, which now numbered around 65, moved down the stream and broke through the mercenary ambushers before making it to the main campsite, which held about 30 mercenaries with varying weapons and one larger foe wielding two large spears, “Return what you have stolen and never threaten these lands again or face death.”

The big one chuckled, “I am Magran, leader of this band of cutthroats. I know who you are and who trained you, young Prince. I have always wanted to test my mettle against Uther the Lightbringer, but you being his second in charge means that you can come close to matching him. So I will make an agreement with you, if you defeat me in single combat without any of those fancy spells and I won’t use any of our tricks, then I will submit my life to you and we will never harm these lands again.”

Arthas nodded and his men sheathed their swords and stepped back as Arthas moved forward while Magran and his men did the same. Magran started off by throwing one spear at Arthas, who dodged it and then threw his hammer at the mercenary, who likewise dodged it and watched as the hammer turned a boulder into a pile of pebbles before having to dodge again from Arthas swinging the spear that was thrown at him. Arthas swept, jabbed, and hacked with the spear while Magran was on the defensive and amazed that someone who used hammers was wielding a spear with ease and skill he had only seen in masters. Arthas then got lucky and snapped Magran’s spear before breaking his own and wielding the pieces and attacking with them both. Arthas then got Magran’s arms apart and knocked the pieces away from him, before he discarded his own and started pounding Magran with his bare hands. Face, chest, shoulder, arms, legs, repeat, that was Arthas’s attack pattern and Magran was feeling every hit like an Ogre was the one dealing the hits.

Magran finally dropped to his knees, “No more, please, no more. Kill me or spare me, we will honor our agreement. We may be mercenaries, but we were soldiers once and we still maintain our honor code. We never break a pact that we have made and we will not endanger these lands again.”

Arthas stared down at him for a moment before sticking his arm out and helping Magran up, “Thank you milord, if you ever need fighters, just call upon us and we will follow you into Hell itself if necessary.”

Arthas nodded and went to grab his hammer before coming back to Magran, “Give me back the ledger you stole.” He nodded and gave Arthas the ledger, “Farewell, but be warned if I hear you are harming people again then I will be forced to hunt you down.” Magran nodded and moved out with his troops. Arthas turned to his men, “Let’s go.”

They marched back to the farmland where the owner was waiting, “Oh, thank you, your majesty, thank you. My farm is saved now, please take this.” He handed him a set of studded gloves and went back to his farm. Arthas put on the gloves and did a practice swing which de discovered was faster than normal, what he realized was they were Gloves of Haste which increased his arms’ speed.

They continued their march and crossed the bridge to Strahnbrad, before they picked up the pace seeing there was smoke coming from the town. When they arrived, they found Orc Raiders chasing down some civilians running for the gate. The Raider captain grinned, while riding a great black wolf, “More whelps to kill, ride my warriors. Blood and glory to the Blackrock clan!!!”

They charged forward as Arthas threw his hammer into the one closest and then leapt onto the Captain’s wolf before snapping the captain’s neck, tossing him away, taking his sword, and chopping some of the other Raiders while the soldiers stopped the remaining Orcs from advancing on the villagers, “Go! Get across the bridge and get to the other towns.” Arthas shouted at the villagers, counting the ones who came out of their houses when a few more Raiders threw lit torches onto them. Arthas continued to ride and chop before throwing the blade into another Raider’s wolf and then scooped up his hammer and started swatting away any Orc that came near him. To the amazement of everyone present, the wolf he was riding was actually aiding and defending him as he rode it and fought the Orcs.

They finished the Raiders off and Arthas sent a dozen men to guard the bridge before moving into the village, “Split up, slay any Orc you find and get any and all civilians out of here. Meet back at the square after you have cleared your areas.” His men nodded and 20 went right, 20 went forward, and the remaining 13 went with Arthas to the lower left. Arthas moved faster upon hearing the sounds of battle and upon arriving, he found 10 Footmen (main fighting force of the Humans) fighting off a dozen Orc Grunts. Arthas charged in, noticing the shock of both Humans and Orcs that he was riding an Orc wolf, smashing one Grunt in the chest sending him into a building before it collapsed on top of him, before smacking another into the waiting sword of a Footman, then smashing another one into the ground, before hurling his hammer into another one which propelled said Grunt into another two, which consequently made them easy pickings for the Footmen that came with Arthas.

Arthas then caught an axe thrown at him, before flipping it over and throwing right back at the Grunt. Arthas then drove the wolf towards the last five. The wolf started clawing and biting one of the Grunts’ necks, while Arthas kicked the axes away as the Grunts swung at both him and the wolf. Arthas then caught an axe before snapping the head off, stabbing the nearest Orc with the broken piece, and then threw the head into another Orc, while the wolf clawed a Grunt’s throat and tore off the last Grunt’s leg before biting his head off. Arthas grabbed his Warhammer and waved his men to follow him, which the town soldiers did as well after directing the civilians to the bridge outside of town.

Arthas rode the wolf back to the town square where he found his men wounded, exhausted, and some wearing dented armor, “Report.”

Two soldiers stepped forward and one spoke, “We encountered about 10 Orc grunts that were attacking a pub’s doors; we attacked from behind while some of the civilians attacked from the other side with whatever they could find while the women and children ran or the gate. We killed the Orcs, but took some wounds and some of the civilians died.”

(I’m not sexist, the game made it so all the Footmen were males, so don’t flip out at me. I will make some female soldiers/captains, but for now I am sticking close to the game ways).

Arthas nodded and the other spoke, “Apparently, the raid got some of the local Rock Golems into a frenzy and they started attacking the walls before breaking through and attacking the supply stores. We destroyed them but we have quite a few men with broken bones and are struggling with exhaustion.”

Arthas nodded and began to channel a large amount of mana before taking his hammer and slamming it on the ground. The footmen watched as energy exploded across the ground and when it touched them, their wounds healed and their bodies rejuvenated, “Let’s go.” Arthas stated as he and his men marched towards the last part of town left to search.

They arrived in time to see a Slavemaster commanding a few Raiders and Grunts, “Take these wretches back to the camp. Have the Blademaster prepare them for our masters.” They started leaving and Arthas moved to stop them but was stopped by a Forest Troll (the Horde’s Trolls are Darkspear Trolls and had never set foot in Lordaeron before, so I am putting them as Forest Trolls who joined the Blackrock Orcs) throwing a spear in front of him. The Slavemaster turned and grinned, which faltered slightly when he saw what Arthas was riding, “Ah, more sacrifices for our masters. Get them, kill those who resist.”

The remaining Raiders, Grunts, and Trolls, which total numbered close to 40, attacked. Arthas started by riding forward and hurling his hammer through the mob at the Slavemaster. He dropped 6 Orcs and knocked the Slavemaster off his horse before taking a Raider’s sword and started chopping through more of the enemy. He caught an axe thrown at him and immediately threw it at one of the Trolls on the rooftops who were throwing spears down at them. Arthas began chanting and healing his soldiers as they took some hits. Arthas was broken from his concentration as he was hit with the broadside of an axe and fell off the wolf he was riding. He got up and started hacking through any enemies that came near him while taking a few cuts and scrapes from near hits. The wolf stayed by him and even attacked other Raiders’ wolves that got near Arthas. Said Prince took a spear that had missed one of his men, by him shoving said man out of the way, and started gutting with the sword while sweeping with the spear before throwing the latter into another Troll on one of the houses, “Falric! Get those Trolls on top of the houses. I don’t want to risk more soldiers falling.” Falric nodded and proceeded to take any weapons dropped by the enemy and threw them into the Trolls while still watching his leader’s back.

Arthas pressed forward chopping through enemy after enemy moving towards the Slavemaster who was swatting his men away like flies with his mace. They weren’t dead but that could very well change if he didn’t hurry. He dropped as a sword came at his throat, before spinning and cleaving through surrounding enemies by using the force of the spin to add more power to the blade. He then hurled the blade at the Slavemaster as he tried to kill one of the Footmen. Arthas moved through the remaining Orcs by just beating them and getting to his hammer before moving after the Slavemaster, who had dodged the blade at the last second and turned to face Arthas. The two squared off, neither noticing that the Orcs and Trolls were almost dead and the Humans hadn’t lost a soldier yet, admittedly there were some injured and disoriented. Arthas charged swinging down on top of the Slavemaster, who blocked with his mace. But, like Steelsnout, he underestimated Arthas’s strength and paid for it by him not bracing enough and Arthas’s hammer hitting his shoulder which was now broken. This was painfully obvious by the resounding CRACK that was heard even over the roaring flames and dwindling sounds of battle. The Slavemaster screamed in pain, which only increased as Arthas swung the hammer into his legs, which also shattered upon impact.

The Slavemaster laid there on the ground in pain and snarled at Arthas, “Agh, don’t think you’ve changed anything whelp. Our masters will return, the skies will blacken and fire shall reign. This world will burn and all will be consumed in shadow.”

Arthas raised his hammer and stared down at him, “Then I will walk through the fire and fight in the darkness until the light shines through. This world may be conquered, but I won’t allow your so called masters to be the ones to do so. May the Light have mercy upon you.” He then slammed his hammer down on to the Slavemaster’s head which reenacted a watermelon being dropped from a decent height. He was about to move before noticing the Slavemaster’s mace. It was black with crimson runes covering it and five flanged prongs on the head. He reached down and took it before giving a few experimental swings, finding it light yet durable, “Well, I do throw my hammer a lot and despite this Orc being a barbarian, he does have a decent weapon.” He stated, before then attaching it to his waist. He then turned around to find the pure fiery red horse the Slavemaster was riding standing in front of him and brushing against him.

Falric stepped up, “I think it wants you to be its new master, sir. Same with the wolf you were riding earlier.” Said wolf came up and sat in front of Arthas while the horse neighed at him and stood there.

Arthas looked at the wolf, which stayed there panting while looking at him, as if it was waiting for orders. Arthas reached a tentative hand out and was surprised when the wolf started licking it and rubbing its head against it. Arthas then placed his other hand out and the horse placed its head against it and seemed to settle down. Arthas knelt down, “Do you two want to come with me?” The wolf barked happily and the horse neighed with, what they assumed was, enthusiasm. Arthas stared at the two before a voice echoed in his mind with two names, “Shadow and Blaze.” To the shock of many, the animals actually seemed to bow to Arthas in, again what they thought was, acceptance, “Alright, we go back to the last farming town to see if the survivors heard or saw anything that we may want to know before going to join Uther, let’s move out.”

They returned to the village, after Arthas gave another healing spell to get his troops moving better, and were approached by a few of the civilians, “Thank you Prince Arthas, you have saved us.” Stated a man as he stood there.

A boy walked up, “But what about the others?” He asked while looking on the verge of crying.

Arthas knelt and smiled down at him, “Don’t worry son, we’ll do everything we can to make sure they come back.”

As he was speaking a knight rode up, “Prince Arthas, Lord Uther has set up camp at the base of the mountains and is just outside of the Orc encampment. He requests for you to join him immediately.”

Arthas nodded as the Knight rode off. He then stood and got on Blaze, “Falric, I want you to take 50 of our men and follow the path that the Orcs cut through the forest. The other 25 will stay and patrol the farmlands until I can have my father increase the actual military presence here. I’m heading to Uther’s camp to aid him in the attack.”

Falric stepped forward, “Sir, are you sure you should be traveling alone and that Lord Uther won’t need the extra reinforcements?”

Arthas nodded, “Yes, while it is risky, we can’t risk more attacks on the town and villages, while Uther and I deal with the main encampment.” Falric nodded and they all headed out.

_Path to Uther’s camp: 10 minutes later_

Arthas was riding towards the encampment when Blaze suddenly stopped and Shadow growled loudly. Arthas drew his hammer off his back and looked around, “Whoever you are, come out!”

He turned as a man garbed in black with crimson designs walked out of the forest and stood before them. I smirked towards them, “Greetings good Prince, I have business to discuss with you.” I walked forward and turned to Shadow when he started growling harder, “Easy Shadow, I am no threat to your master. Just the opposite in fact.” Shadow backed down, but still stood protectively by Arthas, _“Good, it seems that he is changing creatures already and it won’t be long before he is changing people by just being around them.”_

Arthas lowered his hammer figuring that I could have killed him with ease if I was a threat and Shadow was calming, “What do you want with me?”

I chuckled as I stood there, “A couple of things, first to congratulate you on your victory at Strahnbrad. Second, to inform you that there is a Dwarven enchanter with some Riflemen in the mountains southeast of the Blackrock base, help them and you will gain an item that will increase your chances of victory, against the Blackrock Orcs and others, greatly. Third, to give you a few items to aid you and your allies in the battles to come.” I tossed him a bag and he saw items inside with names written on scrolls attached to the items, “A storm is coming young Prince, no matter what happens walk your path as you see fit, but do not lose your compassion for your comrades. No matter what the path may turn into, it will serve you well to remember that. Goodbye, young one. I will find you again when it is time.”

Arthas looked up from the bag I gave him as I turned to leave and called out at me, “WAIT! Who are you?”

I turned towards him, “I am someone who will aid you no matter what. I will find you again when you are ready to learn more.” With that I was gone and Arthas looked over the items, there were three items for him and three items for Jaina Proudmoore, a woman who Arthas loved deeply but wanted her to focus on her studies in the wizarding city of Dalaran, Muradin Bronzebeard, a Dwarf who trained Arthas from boyhood in how to wield a hammer and sword, and Uther. That was all well and good but the thing that confused him was the note attached inside the bad which stated the ones for Jaina were to given when they met on the King’s road to investigate a plague while the ones for Uther were marked not to be given until Hearthglen and the ones for Muradin were not to be given until they met next.

He was confused but felt that he should listen as he examined his items. They were an ornate black dagger which when he drew it was about 6” long and serrated on the back end, he sheathed it back and continued to look. He found a bundle of 6 scrolls with markings on them and a small bundle of 5 potions. He read the note attached to the dagger and his eyes widened, _Leechbane. Dagger crafted with the draining powers of a Great Horror. Once plunged into an enemy it will absorb a piece of their vitality, strength, natural agility, intelligence, and magical power. The longer it is in the enemy, the more it drains and once it is pulled out it transfers what was drained to the user. Once drawn from its sheath, the weapon is bound to the user and will reject others, violently, when attempted to be used by anyone other than the user. Allies may touch it and use it, so long as they do not attempt to use it on the one it is bound to. Any enemies killed by an ally will still be drained, but the blade will hold the power until the owner holds it again._ He placed the knife in his boot and then looked at the other items.

He opened the scrolls and read the note attached, _The scrolls serve a strong purpose. Place them on your torso for them to engrave runes upon them. It will NOT be painful. The first makes it so any augmentation items you receive will be fused with you and empower your weapons while wielding them should the augmentation affect the weapon. Second scroll allows you to project the items’ powers out as an aura thereby aiding your allies. However, items that specifically enhance your skills will be fused with you and will not project outward as an aura, so that ring of yours will not be made into an aura. The third scroll will enable you to mimic any aura you come in contact with. The fourth will increase your spell powers and your control over them thereby making you less winded from high level spells while also making all the spells more potent. The fifth will empower your body, you will be stronger, faster, more agile, smarter, become immune to poisons and toxins as you encounter them, and faster at analyzing a situation. The last one is important, but I cannot tell you all of what it does at this time. But please trust me when I say that it will aid you greatly in the future. It will make it so any weapon you wield will be locked on to you so it will return you if you throw it by merely flexing your hand while channeling mana to it._

He was impressed with the capabilities, so he got off Blaze, took his chest armor off, unrolled the scrolls, and placed them against his chest. His eyes widened as he felt power surge through him and his muscles bulged slightly before constricting back to their normal size, “By the Light, if he can create these abilities, then I can only imagine how strong that man is.” He then moved to the potions before noticing his gloves were gone, confused he looked for them before realizing that the first scroll absorbed the gloves so he could move with the speed enhancement without risk of losing it and now he projected an aura that gave his allies faster attack speed.

He smiled as he realized that and began reading the potions, which were a blue, a red, a silver, a black, and a white, note, _These are permanent potions that will further increase your power and help ensure that you survive to fulfill your destiny. The blue will increase your magical power to that of an Archmage and your power will grow the more you use magic. The red is a concoction that that will permanently allow your body to heal minor wounds while stopping some of the more serious ones from becoming too life threatening while also making it so the more you fight, the stronger you will get. The silver will increase your movement and attack speed to the point where you move like you are wearing cloth and attack like you are swinging a training sword. The black one will increase your fighting ability and destructive spells and abilities. I know you do not believe you have destructive spells, but I promise you that you do or will soon possess some. The white one will improve your natural leadership; your presence already inspires your troops and allies and makes them want to follow you. This potion will improve that, while also increasing your beneficial spells and the auras you will generate. WARNING: They taste HORRIBLE so you may gag or feel the urge to vomit!_

Arthas, while amazed at the abilities of the potions, had to chuckle at the last bit. He popped the corks off the bottles and drank them and, true to the note’s words, he gagged and dry heaved a few times before calming down. He stood feeling the potions already boosting his abilities, before he put his armor back on and got back on Blaze before riding towards Uther’s camp.

_Uther’s camp: 20 minutes later_

Arthas rode into the camp drawing everyone’s attention as he rode a pure red horse and had an Orc wolf beside him. Uther turned and saw him and, while surprised at the animals, greeted him, “Ah, good timing lad. I sent two of my best knights to parlay with the Orcs. They should be returning shortly.”

They turned towards a commotion and saw two horses charging through the camp. Arthas rode forward and swept in front of them, “Whoa, whoa, easy there. Shh, shh.” He stated as they stopped and seemed to calm as he placed his hands on them, “Uther we have to respond swiftly and fiercely. While I am not saying we slay the Orcs that have no part of this, we must ensure that they are at least too weak to try this sort of thing again, at the very least too weak to be a threat for a good amount of time.”

Uther sighed and nodded, “I know lad, just remember that no matter how much we may want to or how much they deserve it, we can never stoop to their level or we become no better than them.” Arthas nodded, “Now then, what would you recommend we do?”

Arthas dismounted and patted Blaze on his side, “Well we know they are not going to allow us much time to prepare our forces and a majority of my men are following the path the Orcs cut through the woods to Strahnbrad and another 25 patrolling the towns since both Gnolls and Mercenaries were raiding the towns when we arrived and I felt it best that they be defended should something else happen. For now, I would say since you are the better tactician that you lead our forces while I stay behind to protect our base from the enemy.”

Uther smiled again, proud of his young charge, “A fine plan lad, but I want you to lead the attack.” Arthas was surprised, “You have created fine plans and have pushed aside your pride to ensure victory and the men would be glad to follow you.”

Arthas nodded, “If that is what you wish Uther.” Uther nodded and they both split up, Uther to patrol the camp’s borders and Arthas to gather a few men to scout the area with him before launching the full attack, _“If what that man said is true, then those Dwarves should be just over that rise and are hunting that dragon.”_ He approached the tents and had 10 soldiers join him for the scouting while the others would be prepared to defend the base and then march when they had exact location for the Orcs.

Arthas had traveled over the rise and saw a Blacksmith at the base of the mountain, “I’ll be damned.” Arthas muttered as he went towards it, his ten men and Shadow following him.

As they approached they saw about 12 dwarf riflemen and two older Dwarves standing out front. The two Dwarves, while wielding a mortar together, turned and greeted Arthas, “Ah greetings lad, are you here to aid us in our hunt?”

Arthas, knowing that he couldn’t immediately say yes without raising suspicion, simply stated, “What are you Dwarves hunting?”

The two Dwarves smiled, “We be hunting black drakes, it’s said that their blood can bestow fiery enchantments to weapons.”

Arthas was impressed, both with me and the capabilities of that enchantment, “The enchantments you speak of could be useful to us. We’ll join you.”

The two nodded, “The main dragon we be hunting be called Searinox. He resides in the nearby pass, bring us his burning heart and we’ll give your weapons a fiery enchantment.”

Arthas nodded and led his ten plus the 12 riflemen towards the mountain pass. They encountered a few whelps on the way, but nothing the riflemen couldn’t handle. As they got deeper, they found more and more corpses and bones from various things. When they got to the end of the pass, they stood before a great black drake, **“Yet more worms coming into my domain, your race seems to get more foolish with every generation.”**

Arthas readied his hammer, “That may be true, but you will not live any longer to confirm it.” The riflemen started firing while Arthas swatted the flames away with his hammer before hurling it with all his might at Searinox. Said dragon moved but the hammer slammed into his wing causing him to crash on the ground where Arthas and the Footmen were upon him, the Footmen stabbing his wings, Shadow tearing at his wings as well, and Arthas taking the mace and slamming Searinox’s head repeatedly with it, which had the added effect of not allowing the dragon to breath fire on them. The riflemen then moved up and started firing point blank range into his neck and head. Arthas then called his hammer back to him, channeled mana into it, and then slammed it hard into Searinox’s head. The blow caved in his head and killed him. Arthas then took Leechbane and carved out the heart before leading his soldiers back to the smiths.

The smiths took the heart and came back 10 minutes later with a red orb with fire swirling inside it, “Here ya go lad, this be an orb of fire. So long as it be in your possession, your weapons will carry an effect of releasing a burst of fire upon a strike. To help you as you helped us, we’ll give you the added power of our riflemen to aid you.”

Arthas nodded and pocketed the orb, “Thank you, I hope you have good fortune on any future hunts.” Arthas then left and they continued scouting, before long, they had come across a clan of Ogres. The largest, with one head and had battle armor on, stared down at him, **“Me Trongok, me chieftain of the Mirkmaul. Why puny Human here?”**

Arthas while getting irritated at him already simply stated, “I am here to defeat the Blackrock Orcs nearby.”

Trongok laughed, **“HA! You no defeat them, puny Human? Even if they weak, you weaker than them.”**

“Care to test that theory?” Arthas asked while raising his hammer up onto his shoulder. His response was for a war club to come down towards his head which he blocked with his hammer and shocked everyone that he could match the Ogre in strength. Arthas then pushed off, spun, and slammed his hammer into Trongok’s back, before grabbing the mace he took and slamming it in his shoulder, pulling back, and then slamming both on his head, crushing it, “I have defeated the Mirkmaul clan chieftain, is there anyone else who wishes to challenge me?”

The Mirkmaul, to the shock of the Humans and Dwarves, knelt before him and began chanting, **“Human, Human, Human.”**

A large blue one came up, **“We pledge our strength to strongest of Mirkmaul, you kill chieftain, you strongest, we serve you now.”** The other Ogres nodded, **“If you no want us, we go to forest; we wait till you want us.”**

Before Arthas could understand what had happened, they had gone off into the forest, “It doesn’t matter now, let’s go. We have an Orc camp to find.” His men nodded and they continued their scouting. Around two hours later they had discovered both the main camp and the area where they held the prisoners. They returned to camp to get everyone ready for the march, while Arthas went to Uther, “Uther, we discovered their camp. It’s north of us while they are holding the hostages to the northeast.”

Uther nodded, “Good job lad, now I want you to lead the attack and stop them before they can do harm to those people.”

Before another word could be said the Blademaster of the Blackrock Orcs came up to them, “You foolish Humans will never learn. The Blackrock warlocks have spoken; this world shall burn and be bathed in shadow.”

Uther sighed, “Yes, I’ve heard that before.” He then swung his hammer at the Orc, only for it to disappear, “It was only a mirror image, damn.”

Arthas gripped his hammer tight, “Uther, we can’t waist time. Now that they know that we’re here, they may kill the hostages faster than they were. You lead the attack on the camp and I’ll go after the Blademaster and try to save the hostages.” Uther nodded and they got the camp ready. Arthas mounted Blaze and rode off with Shadow behind him. He rode until encountering two Grunts and a Troll, which he dealt with by throwing his hammer into the Grunts and Leechbane into the troll. He had them both return to him before riding forward again. He arrived just outside a clearing and found another 5 Grunts. Shadow leapt on one before ripping his neck open, Arthas rode forward and slammed his hammer into one, before turning, pulling out the mace, and then bashing another in the face. Shadow leapt on another before tearing his arm off, before jumping on the last and then slashing his throat open. Arthas patted Shadow on the head before moving to the clearing.

When he arrived at the clearing he found the Blademaster cutting down the hostages. He was about to kill another hostage, who Arthas recognized as a former captain named Marwyn Svren, who had retired after helping his best friend Falric become a captain and trained Arthas into the warrior he was, when Arthas threw Leechbane into his hand. The Blademaster took the knife out, dropped it, and turned to face Arthas, who got off Blaze and had Shadow stay with said horse, “You’ll pay for your barbarism.” Arthas stated while drawing his hammer.

The Blademaster chuckled, “You weakling of a Human, even if you defeat me our base will just continue the raids. By diverting forces here, you have made it easier to crush your base and continue offering sacrifices to our demon masters.”

Arthas chuckled, “Now, whoever said I diverted forces to fight you?” The Blademaster was shocked, “My mentor is leading the assault on your base as we speak, while I came to deal with you.” Arthas charged forward before bringing his hammer down, which the Blademaster blocked. However, due to his underestimation of Arthas’s strength, fire suddenly lashing out, and his wound from earlier, he still got pushed to his knees.

He struggled to hold the attack at bay while feeling his arms twitching in pain. He then shoved hard and rolled backwards, _“What is this man!? His strength is greater than most Orc berserkers and his weapon while having no runes lashed out fire. If he didn’t appear like a normal man, I would say he served a demon master or had at least consumed demon blood. Regardless, if I offer him up to our masters then I will be greatly rewarded.”_

(If he only knew how wrong he was, right?)

The Blademaster charged forward with his blade ready to strike, but was subsequently blocked by the mace Arthas had before he pivoted and spun to swing the hammer at the Blademaster’s back, which was blocked by the Blademaster’s sword but both the force and the sudden burst of fire, forced him forward and burned his back. He stumbled forward and turned around only to have a boot smash into his face which sent him back into a tree. He got up, snapped his nose back into place, and spit out some blood and a tooth. The Blademaster grinned before charging forward and swiped his blade, which was blocked, before dropping back and sweeping his feet at Arthas. Arthas leapt over it, but was unable to dodge the blade coming at him again and it was able to gash his armor and nicked his arm slightly.

Not letting Arthas get time to recover, the Blademaster charged forward again, but was forced to drop as Arthas threw the mace. The mace flew past him and splintered a tree before he had to bring up his swords to block the hammer and had to suppress the pain from the fire that exploded out from the hammer. The Blademaster grinned, “You fight well for a Human, even if I should die, this was a good fight and a good death.”

Arthas found himself smiling, “Indeed, it was an honor. Know that I will not allow all your kin to be slain.” The Blademaster then felt pain and cold as his chest started hurting. He looked down and saw the knife from before now both in Arthas’s hand and said Blademaster’s chest.

The Blademaster chuckled slightly as he coughed up blood, “Haha… _COUGH…_ A Blademaster killed… by a blade… what a world we live in.” He looked up to Arthas and smiled, “Boy, tell me… your name.”

Arthas, knowing it was a code of honor and respect, answered, “My name is Arthas Menethil, Prince of Lordaeron and second among the Paladins.”

The Orc smiled, before turning his blade over and handling the hilt to Arthas, “My name is Sanjaro. It was an honor… I have a request. That mace you wield was… forged by the warlocks of our clan… it is called Stone Wrecker. Please, take my blade as well… its name is Blood Cleaver. It shall serve you well… continue to walk your path with honor… for you are the first Human I have met… that has earned my respect. Use these weapons well… and I can be at peace.”

Arthas nodded and took the blade as Sanjaro fell to the ground dead. It was blood red with a gold handle and was slightly jagged on the blade edge. Arthas held the sword for a minute before taking the sheath and putting it on his back with his hammer, put Leechbane back in his boot, and putting the mace back on his waist. He then cut Marwan free, “Thank you milord, I was afraid that I was going to be cut down as well.” He stated while rubbing the skin that was raw from the bindings.

Arthas helped him up, “Think nothing of it Marwan, I would’ve been here faster but I was delayed by his soldiers.” Marwan nodded as they checked for survivors, “Damn, not one left. We need to regroup with Uther, let’s go.” Marwan nodded as Arthas had him mount Shadow, while Arthas took Sanjaro’s body and put it on the back of Blaze, and he then mounted Blaze before he then rode off towards the Orc encampment.

When they arrived, Marwan got off Shadow and they found over 30 orc warriors bound alongside around 50 women and children with the buildings burning. Falric and Arthas’s troops were there as well. As he approached, the Orcs stared on, shocked that a Human had tamed a Raider’s wolf, a Slavemaster’s horse, and possessed two of their clan’s personally forged weapons. Uther noticed the sword and mace as well and then spoke, “Well lad, what do you suggest we do with them?”

Arthas walked Blaze forward as he gazed at the Orcs, “I am Arthas Menethil, and had this been any other time, I would say to take all of you to an internment camp.” This got the Orcs angry for the men and scared for the women and children, while the Humans nodded knowing that it was what usually happened, “However,” this got everyone’s attention, “I gave Sanjaro my word, before he died and bequeathed his sword to me, that I would ensure your survival. So you will be released and allowed to go to your mountains or elsewhere, but be warned, should you attempt to raid our settlements or farms again, I will bring my wrath down upon you.” Arthas then dismounted and took Sanjaro’s body from Blaze before turning to a few of his men, “Bring them a few carts from the camp and leave them their mounts.”

The men nodded and rode off, while Arthas turned to the Orc that seemed to be the center of the other Orcs’ attention and then laid Sanjaro’s body down before him, “He fought with honor and skill worthy of his title and people, and I ask that you give him a proper burial.”  
Everyone was stunned, a Human was asking for an Orc to have a proper burial and was being respectful.

The Orc stared into Arthas’s eyes looking for deception, but was surprised to find none. He then nodded, “Very well Human, the fact that you wield that blade, as well as showing respect to Sanjaro and mercy to us means much. I will ensure he is buried with the honor he deserves.”

Arthas nodded, “I thank you.” Then Arthas shocked everyone again by cutting the Orc free and shaking his hand when he stood. He then turned towards the troops, “Everyone move out, I’ll await the carts before leaving with the last few men. They will not try anything, not out of fear but out of honor.” Everyone nodded and started leaving.

_Two hours later_

Five minutes after the carts arrived and Arthas and the few soldiers departed, while leaving still stunned Orcs behind them. When Arthas and the others caught up the men cheered for Arthas as he rode up next to Uther, “That was a surprising decision lad. Most people having seen what we had would have just ordered their execution.” Uther stated as they went home.

Arthas nodded, “Perhaps, but Sanjaro earned my respect and I will keep my word when it is given.” Uther nodded, “Besides, they would have executed us if the situation was reversed and wasn’t it you who said that if we stoop to their level then we are no better than them?” They shared a chuckled as they continued home.

Meanwhile, I stood at the top of a tree, _“He is progressing faster than I imagined and it is only a few days now till he will encounter Kel’Thuzad and then the real tests will begin. Now go young one, the faster you get home the faster the days will pass before you head for Hearthglen, Andorhal, and Stratholme. Then your purpose will truly be shown.”_ With that I vanished and went towards the capitol.

**And done.**

**WARNING!!!! Arthas will be godlike as we progress and his abilities will be changed/strengthened.**

**Also some characters will be changed slightly due to the interference of my OC.**

**Yes, Steelsnout’s tribe, Magran’s forces, and the Mirkmaul clan will make another appearance but not until after Arthas has been turned to the Lich King’s will.**

**Later everyone.**


	3. Beginning of Damnation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthas is called to investigate the plague in the kingdom and he meets a lover he hasn't seen in a long time

** Hello all ** ** , this chapter will end before the defense of Hearthglen. So it will cover 2 missions of the Human campaign. They are: Arthas and Jaina finding the source of the plague and then confronting Kel'Thuzad at Andorhal. **

** Lastly, if I forget to mention it, all the weapons of Arthas' allies, himself included in that as well, unleash a burst of fire when the weapon hits something. So if I fail to mention fire coming from an attack and hitting an enemy, then I apologize. **

** Now, let's get to what y'all are all here for. **

** Disclaimer: I don't own Warcraft, Blizzard, or a great many things that will be in this fic except for some OCs. **

(Author's Notes)

"Speech"

" _Thoughts"_

' _Language other than common'_

_ (Mental conversations) _

" **Non-Humanoid (Demons, spirits, etc. etc.) speech"**

" ** _Above's thoughts"_**

' ** _Above's speech in other language'_**

**_ (Mental conversations) _ **

** Chapter 3: Beginning of Damnation **

_ Lordaeron City: 2 weeks since last chapter _

Arthas knelt before his father with Falric behind him as his father gazed at them, "My son, you are to go along the king's road to Brill and meet with an agent of the Kirin Tor to investigate claims of a plague being spread throughout the Northern provinces."

Arthas nodded, "I understand father. If I may ask, who am I meeting?" He asked, though he had an extremely high probable guess since I had basically told him who he would meet when I gave him the items and he was praying with every fiber of his being that I was correct.

His father smiled, but it seemed a little forced, "It is your old friend Jaina Proudmoore, my son. Now you must prepare and leave shortly, may the light watch over you." Arthas nodded while internally he was both happy I was right and upset with his father. This was more evident as when he turned and left as he was frowning about his father's attitude. You see, he had never approved of Arthas being close to Jaina as she was not royalty and was the daughter of a soldier. Needless to say, it royally pissed Arthas off at times. He was a prince, yes, but he had the right to love whoever he chose and his father had no say in that matter at all.

Now, did Arthas date other women, royalty/with status included, and have feelings for them that could be considered love? Sure, but Jaina and one other held the most of his love and attentions and he knew they felt the same about him as they had confirmed it with him. The only reason he was not currently in a relationship with one or both, there have been a few rulers who did so or non-rulers who had more than one spouse, was because he was busy training and learning how to rule his kingdom and could not give them the attention they deserved and asked them to focus on their studies so that they could be together longer with no interruptions besides the occasional mission from their respective groups. There was also the fact his father was obviously prejudicial about who Arthas would marry. He had tried to make him see that love was more important, heck even Arthas's grandfather had tried to talk some sense into his son, but it was to no avail as he continued to be a fool.

Arthas nodded to Falric and he left for the barracks to get the men as Arthas moved to the stables. As he walked he became more and more lost in his thoughts. His father had been doing many things he did not agree with and quite a few that were making him angry. A main point was the situation when he returned from Strahnbrad. His father would not increase patrols, was not happy that he had not wiped out the Orcs, and tried to get rid of Shadow and Blaze the moment they were mentioned and then tried to give them to one of the generals from the previous war when Arthas told him that they were tamed. Needless to say he had the loudest shouting match with his father that had ever been held within the castle. Even Uther, both of their soldiers, and the guards present were starting to lose faith in their King as Uther believed Arthas had made valid points and was right to honor the promise he made to the Blademaster. This did not sit well with Terenas, the second, and he threatened to cut Uther's funding if he did not stay out of matters that did not concern a peasant such as him. Another point was his father tried to order the Dwarves to train his men and give them designs to the rifles despite the fact that King Magni, of the Dwarves, had told him that it would take too long and that such designs were dangerous craft. Arthas managed to persuade the dwarves to stay with him and they began to travel with Arthas on the occasional assignment he received. Arthas shook his head as he arrived at the stables, his father was losing the loyalty of the troops, knights, and even Arthas himself as he continued to make decisions based solely on hatred and belief that they were invincible when they were just humans and were just as bound for death as many other races.

As he entered the stables he was almost knocked over by Shadow jumping on him and licking his face happily. Arthas chuckled, "Easy there boy, you're getting some fresh air today." Shadow got down and sat waiting for orders as Blaze came out of his stall and stood before Arthas, who petted him before getting the other horses ready including a silver horse with white hair. Now what many people knew about this horse was that there were only two people in all of the kingdoms that could approach that horse without getting kicked in various places. Arthas was one of them and he approached while getting the saddle and everything set on, "Hey there Starfire, we're going to see her and I thought you would want to come." The horse gave, what he thought was, an enthusiastic affirmative and he chuckled, "I know, I miss her too." He then finished the other horses as his men arrived and mounted up before they rode off.

_ Dalaran city: Two hours later. _

Antonidas, the Archmage and leader of the Circle of Magi, was conversing with the prophet that warned the king of the coming doom. Of course, one fool can always find another to support him and Antonidas was a fool and turned the man away. Jaina Proudmoore, a woman in a white clothes with a purple hooded cloak and a wooden staff with a blue jewel atop, walked up to him, "Are you sure it was wise to turn him away master?" The girl asked, having felt the power he held within himself.

Antonidas snorted, "If I listened to every fool who preached about the end of the world then I would never get any work done." The woman nodded her head and he turned his horse to look at her, "Now child, I have a task for you. The king has finally allowed some troops to aid us in investigating the plague of the northern parts. You are to meet your escort on the King's road to the south of Brill."

Jaina nodded, "Was there word of who my escort was?" She said, while praying that a certain Prince was chosen as he was one of the top two paladins in the entire kingdom and she missed him dearly.

Antonidas frowned slightly, "Yes, the king has sent his son to handle this matter despite my reservations on the choice of escorts. That boy barely has any strength and is too hotheaded for this matter, but I cannot go against the king even if it is a mistake to allow that boy to do this. You are to leave immediately and find the source of this plague and then end it." Jaina nodded and left… or so it appeared as she disappeared herself to listen in on her master, "That brat is getting in the way of my teaching Jaina how to be a proper mage. Silly infatuations with someone who will never be allowed to be with you are pointless and even if they could be together then I would disallow it. After she returns, I will ensure they stay apart."

Jaina scowled as she left for the transportation area, _"How dare that old decrepit bastard say that about Arthas! Arthas has on many occasions been nothing but an asset to the Kirin Tor and Dalaran as well as the nation and our allies as a whole. The fool must still be jealous of the fact both Arthas and I have more magical power than he does and refuses to accept anyone not trained by him and only him could be stronger than him. If that bastard thinks that he can keep me from Arthas then he has another thing coming. I already know more than he does in magic and its uses anyway, he just doesn't want to be replaced yet."_ She then sighed and then started smiling, _"Arthas. I wonder if it's time yet."_ She continued to the transport area before having the ring of magi there teleport her to a few miles from where she was supposed to meet Arthas.

_ Kings Road, 5 miles southeast of Brill: 4 hours later _

Arthas, his 30 troops, Falric, and Marwyn, the latter of which joined Arthas after seeing the king be a fool and seeing Arthas prove to be a man that he can follow, had been waiting for an hour now, after sending the few men responsible for the other horses back to the castle, and Falric spoke up, "My lord, we have been waiting for some time now. Are you sure Lady Jaina is coming?"

Arthas chuckled, "I'm positive Falric; Jaina is always a bit late." They turned towards the sounds of combat to see said woman running from two Ogres. Before Falric could do anything, Arthas stopped him, "Stay your blades, she can handle herself." True to his words, Jaina summoned an elemental made of water and then made it rain spears of ice on the Ogres. One Ogre fell and as the other tried to run, Arthas threw Leechbane into its skull killing it. Arthas approached and removed the dagger, partly noticing the power the circulated into him, before facing Jaina and smiling warmly, "Gentlemen, may I introduce miss Jaina Proudmoore; top agent of the Kirin Tor and successor to Archmage Antonidas. It's good to see you again Jaina."

She smiled lovingly at him, "Good to see you too Arthas, it has been some time since a prince escorted me anywhere." She stated while keeping her smile with a blush forming since the last time he escorted her, they ditched the party and spent time together away from prying eyes. She was then surprised when she felt the magical power he possessed, _"What is this?! He never had this kind of power before!"_

Arthas smiled a little more and nodded, "That is true, now I need to discuss a few things with you in private." Jaina raised an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless, "Falric, we'll be back shortly." Falric nodded, while Arthas and Jaina moved into the surrounding woods.

Before Jaina could speak, Arthas handed her a bundle of items. Confused, she took the bag and Arthas then handed her a note as well and she began to read it, _Jaina Proudmoore, my name is Damon Corvus. Beyond my name, anything else about me is unimportant and irrelevant. In the bundle, that Arthas has just given you, are items that will aid you in your travels and also aid Arthas by making it so he does not have to worry about you when in combat. Before you ask, no, Arthas has not read this letter as it was keyed to your magical power. More importantly, stay with Arthas. He has a destiny you cannot even begin to imagine and will need your help to deal with different matters that arise. I wish you the best of luck and happiness with him. We will meet in the future when I need to see Arthas again._

Jaina looked up at Arthas while thinking this was a joke and Arthas responded by shaking his head, "He gave me items as well and we had a talk too, he said he was my ally and he was ensuring that I, and anyone I cared about, survived to fulfill my destiny. There are scrolls and potions in there as well as one or two items. The scrolls engrave runes on you without pain; the potions permanently increase different things, but anything else I don't know. You'll have to read the notes he left attached to each item."

She nodded and read the potions note only to become awestruck, _These potions are permanent and will never fade away no matter the order you drink them nor if you drink another potion not of this bundle. The Blue will increase your magical power to that of three Archmagi and the powers grow the more you use magic. The Red is a concoction that will permanently allow your body to heal minor wounds while stopping some of the more serious ones from becoming too life threatening and the more fights you survive the more Mana you will gain to your pool. The Silver will increase your movement and attack speed. The Black will increase your fighting ability and destructive spells and abilities. The White will increase your beneficial spells and the auras you generate. WARNING: They taste HORRIBLE so you may gag or feel the urge to vomit!_

She chuckled before taking one and drinking it. She then grimaced as she continued to drink the potions while Arthas chuckled and she then read the scrolls' note only to have her mouth partially drop, _The scrolls serve a strong purpose. Place them on your torso, front or back, for them to engrave runes upon you. It will NOT be painful. The first will increase your spell powers and control over them to untold heights. The second will empower your body; you will become stronger, faster, more agile, smarter, becoming immune to poisons and toxins as encountered, and faster at analyzing a situation. The third makes you able to learn any spell once you have seen it and you can copy it exactly and even make it stronger. The fourth will allow you the ability to sense magical energies with ease with the distance increasing the more you train in it and use it. The fifth will make it so any weapon you wield will be locked onto you so it will return if thrown, or is knocked away from you, and will allow magical power to be charged into and through it to unleash stronger attacks. The last one connects the user to the person of their choice and further connects them to anyone else that connects to that person. You will be able to sense the person, communicate, and know if they are in danger or in need of assistance._

She blushed slightly as she turned to Arthas, "Arthas, would you help me put these on." Arthas nodded and Jaina removed her cloak and undid the top part of her clothes. Arthas placed tree on her back while she placed three on her stomach and chest and she felt the power flow through her, "This is incredible, this power is unbelievable." She then calmed down a little and remembered she was almost half naked in front of Arthas, "Thank you Arthas I really…" She was stopped as she felt arms wrap around from behind her and hold her close, "Arthas?"

She then felt him kiss her neck and hold her tighter, "I love you Jaina and I want us to be together." She was shocked and tears started coming free from her eyes, "I don't care about my father, the throne, our training, or status. I love you and I will be with you regardless of what my fool of a father thinks, will you leave the Kirin Tor and be with me?"

Jaina was freely crying now and turned around to kiss Arthas deeply and lovingly. As she pulled away, she spoke, "Of course I will, I want to be with you and to Hell with what the order wants or desires. Antonidas was going to try and keep me away from you and train me to be his, so called, worthy successor, but I will stay with you and if anyone tries to bring me back then they will know why I am already named heir to the position of the Archmage." Arthas smiled and kissed her again before she looked up to him lovingly, "Arthas, the last scroll said that I could choose someone to be connected to and that we would be able to sense each other, communicate, and know when the other needs help while also connecting me to anyone else who gets a similar scroll. I choose you Arthas and I never want to be away from you again." She explained and then stated as she laid her head against his chest.

Arthas kept his arms wrapped around her protectively, "Thank you Jaina, and I promise that we will be together and anyone who tries something will feel my wrath." He then kissed her deeply and smiled, "Now, we need to get back so you should get dressed and see what other items were left for you."

She blushed realizing she was still almost half naked and then nodded before redressing and then seeing what the next item was, _Gloves of Spell Mastery: These gloves will allow you to control any summoned creature in existence and it will follow your orders as if you had been the one who summoned it. The gloves also increase your control and empower your spells to be even stronger than they normally would be. It also reduces your casting/chanting time as you use those spells to the point you can do them on instinct alone._

She gaped at the gloves before slipping them on and feeling them empower her beyond what she would have been at with another decade of training. She then took the next item and read the note attached, _Staff of the Guardian: This staff has been empowered by several dozen mages and powerful beings over several centuries and can only be used by a powerful mage and cannot be used by another that it deems unworthy. It will improve your spell mastery, spell power, and lessen the drain you feel when using high level spells. This staff also serves as a teleportation conduit so you can move easily to longer distances and take more people with you without tiring yourself out or needing others to help channel magic into spell. As you train in it, you will go farther faster, pull more people with you, and use less power than normal. Lastly, it will absorb other staves and use them to boost its own durability, powers, and strengths while gaining the abilities of whatever staff it absorbs._

Jaina's jaw dropped before she turned and handed the notes to Arthas and took the staff in her hands as it absorbed her old staff into it. The staff resembled a white twisting branch that rose up to hold a black crystal in the top with silver runes and energy reverberating off of the staff as a whole, counting the crystal. As she gazed at the staff she felt the power flowing into her and then noticed Arthas's power as well and she actually found the amount of power he held to be highly attractive. Said man was nodding after reading the notes, "That man is full of surprises, I wonder when I will meet him again."

Jaina turned towards him while trying to control her blush, both at the fact she was going to be with Arthas and also her apparent attraction to the power Arthas was exuding, "Where did you meet him Arthas? What did he give you?"

Arthas smirked, "He met me on the road from Strahnbrad to an encampment of Blackrock Orcs. As for what he gave me," Arthas then took the notes for the items he received and Jaina read them over before her eyes bugged out while Arthas nodded, "I know, I was the same way too." He shook his head and took the notes back, "Anyway, we need to go. We still have a mission and while I don't give a damn about my father's or Antonidas' desires, commands, or whatever, I can't allow the people to suffer simply because the people wanting us to perform this mission are morons."

Jaina nodded and they rejoined Arthas's troops where she saw Starfire standing there and she shouted out with glee, "Starfire!" She ran and hugged the horse that had been with her since childhood before the order made her give her up, which was hypocritical since Antonidas rode a horse everywhere. Arthas smiled at her before she walked up to him and whispered, "You'll get a better thank you tonight my love. I apologize if you're tired tomorrow." She walked away with sway of her hips before she mounted Starfire while Arthas smirked and mounted Blaze before they began moving north.

_ An hour later: Southern half of Brill _

(My Brill in this is divided by a bridge across a river and while the southern is the farming land, the northern is the actual industry and such. Whether that is accurate to the game or not, I have no idea).

Along the way to Brill, Arthas informed Jaina about Blaze, Shadow, and the two Orc weapons he had attached to himself. Falric and Marwyn smirked at the two as they interacted already planning on helping them stay together despite the King and the Archmage's wishes. As they marched into the southern half of Brill, they were greeted by a few villagers, "Prince Arthas, there seems to be a problem at the bridge ahead." Stated a farmer as Arthas nodded and moved forward with his men holding in formation as they marched behind him.

They arrived to find the bridge destroyed and several villagers trying to find a source of the problem, "Ah, Prince Arthas!" One of the farmers stated as he saw Arthas approach, "I am terribly sorry milord, but something or someone has destroyed the bridge to the northern side. There is another path, but it is not as safe as it once was. It lies to the east through the village and then through the wilderness."

Arthas nodded, "Let's move it men." They started marching when Arthas heard the sounds of battle, "Formation!" His men drew their swords and locked shields, "Advance!" Arthas rode forward and found the villagers under attack by mercenaries. He charged forward before hurling Light's Vengeance (actual name for his hammer) into a few mercenaries, then drew Blood Cleaver (Sword that Sanjaro [OC Blackrock Blademaster] gave him last chapter), and began bisecting the enemy, while everyone was shocked at his speed. Arthas then turned and threw Leechbane (dagger I gave him after leaving Strahnbrad) into another's skull, before drawing Stone Wrecker and fighting through more enemies as he smashed and sliced through them.

Jaina came up and, after getting over her surprise at Arthas' attack, began attacking as well and summoned three water elementals to fight. Falric and Marwyn led the troops through while the civilians moved behind the marching line of Arthas' troops. Arthas had reattached Stone Wrecker before recalling Leechbane, and feeling it transfer the strengths from the one it killed to him, and started fighting with sword and dagger in hand. He bisected one before stabbing another in the throat, twisting and tossing the body into another, and then stabbing another two in their chests before dropping to avoid a spear, which skewered another mercenary. Arthas turned and saw a warlord on a horse coming towards him with larger version of a blackjack in one hand and a shield in the other. Arthas rode forward and threw Leechbane at her, it was deflected, but gave Arthas the chance to recall his hammer and slam it into the shield and hear the audible crunch of the warlord's arm. Said woman, yes you read correctly, screamed in pain and fell off her horse and clutched her arm. Falric approached and put a sword to her throat before his eyes widened in shock, "Rane?" He stated in shock and surprise as his mind tried to process that the woman he loved was here and attacking a village.

The woman looked up and gasped, "Falric?" She then caught herself as she noticed her men were going to be killed if she didn't do anything and screamed to her men, "ALL OF YOU STAND DOWN!" The fighting immediately stopped and she stood before embracing Falric, though wincing from the pain from her arm, and crying, emotionally not from the pain, "Where have you been?! I got word that you were killed on a mission!" She cried into his chest as she felt that she would never see the man she loved again and, worse yet, not even get a chance to tell him how she felt about him.

Falric returned the embrace and was surprised until he remembered a particular discussion he had with the king, "THAT BASTARD!" He screamed as everyone turned to him and Arthas approached giving an unspoken question and Falric turned to him, "Your father, when he recruited me and made me your personal captain, was not pleased that I needed to return home at some point because I had woman I loved there and I needed to return to her. Then six months into my training, I was informed that the town she was in was raided by Orcs and everyone was killed."

Arthas and Rane were shocked, "But that isn't true! It still stands and is perfectly fine!" She stated, while internally happy that he loved her as well, as her soldiers nodded, while Marwyn and Jaina did so as well as they had heard nothing about it being attacked or wiped out.

Arthas gripped his hands tight and lightning started crackling over him as power pushed off around him, "That damn bastard. He wanted a promising soldier to be under my command to ensure I wouldn't get killed, so he then lied in order to get you to stay Falric." This got shocked looks from everyone as Arthas turned to Falric, "Falric, should you desire, I will release you from your duty of service."

This got surprised looks from everyone. Falric looked at Rane and then Arthas and sighed, "I appreciate that, my lord, but I am honor bound to fulfill my duty. No matter how much I want to return home and be with Rane, I cannot, in good conscience, leave my friend, brother, and future king. Rane, I have to ask, why were you attacking this village when they are not doing anything to harm anyone?"

Rane sighed, "We weren't attacking. We came here to see if there were supplies we could purchase and some of the citizens shouted that we were bandits and then the guards and some of the farmers came and attacked us. We defended ourselves and aimed not to kill anyone. It was a misunderstanding, one that none of them tried to listen to. I am sorry for any that we killed, but we had to protect ourselves as well."

Arthas nodded and turned to Rane, "Do you wish to stay with Falric?" She nodded without an ounce of hesitation, "Than by the power invested to me by my _father,_ the king, I do hereby conscript you into my forces and give you the rank of Lieutenant and you will report directly to Falric. Is that understood?" Everyone was surprised, both at his actions and the clear disdain he held for his father.

Rane smiled and saluted Arthas, "Sir!" She said before bowing as well.

Arthas nodded and then cast 'Holy Light' on her and she had her arm fixed like new. Of course, the first thing she did was grab Falric by the head and kiss him with all her might, which he gladly returned. After a few moments Arthas spoke up, "Captain, Lieutenant, we need to move." They broke apart and nodded before Arthas healed her troops and cast resurrection to revive the fallen warriors. The farmers, feeling guilty about the whole mess, gave the group supplies for the journey. As they left the village, with Rane's forces mixed into Arthas', a villager told Arthas that there was a pool that was said to have healing properties. Arthas nodded his thanks and they continued through, while he did not need the water to heal anyone, he could certainly use the possible aura off of it.

_ Three hours, and some skirmishes, later: Path to the northern side of Brill _

Arthas saw the others were tired after the march they had been on and they all had to groan slightly at the image before them. First they encountered a nest of Murlocs at a river crossing and afterwards they were soaked in Murloc blood, which was one of the foulest smelling things in existence. Then they got ambushed by a tribe of forest trolls that had a Spirit Healer, who kept reviving his fallen brethren… until Arthas smashed him into a paste. Arthas was also pleased to find a pair of Boots of Speed on the Healer and when he put them on, they absorbed into him. They then had to destroy a tribe of Wendigoes that guarded the fountain of healing, which gave Arthas the aura, and after another battle, his men drank the water to recuperate and Arthas had them bottle some of it for each of them. He figured that if he sent his men on another path, like at Strahnbrad, they could recuperate and not risk dying. Things were fine for about 30 minutes before a nest of spiders decided they wanted Arthas and his troops for lunch. Needless to say, they took offense to that and Jaina made that clear by setting their webs on fire… then putting the fires out when the spiders were dead, of course.

Now though, now they were facing a contingent of skeletal archers and some more soldiers fighting them as they locked shields to block the arrows. Needing no orders, Arthas's troops immediately engaged the skeletons in combat. Arthas then moved forward and began smashing the skeletons, while his troops felt the auras he had fueling them farther. The skeletons burned, got crushed, were peppered with bullets, had the skulls skewered, or were shredded by Jaina's blizzard spell. Arthas then realized that since they were unholy beings, his holy magic would harm them. So he charged his hammer full of magic not noticing the skeletal archer behind him. As he moved to slam his hammer, Jaina moved behind him and knocked the arrow away from Arthas before said paladin's hammer slammed the ground and a blast of magic echoed across the field. His soldiers were healed, while the archers burned and writhed in agony before being reduced to dust.

Arthas regrouped his troops and the ones that were fighting when he arrived joined the ranks after explaining that they destroyed the bridge to keep the skeletons isolated on their side of the river and not let them attack the villagers/farmers. Arthas nodded and they began to move while crushing any skeletons in the way. They were forced to stop as they found a granary, now that might not be strange usually, but the ground and trees around this one were dead, "Have you ever seen anything like this Jaina?" Arthas asked while feeling the unholy presence coming from the ground.

Jaina shook her head as she investigated the ground, "All I can tell is that is some form of darker magic. It seems to have infected the grain and then leeched into ground before spreading to the trees."

Arthas got a grim look on his face, "Let's hope you're wrong, that seal on the crate is the emblem of Andorhal, the major grain distributor for the kingdom. We'll destroy the granary before moving further in; if what I remember is correct, then there should be a warehouse at the other end of the village up ahead. I pray we are not too late." Arthas channeled magic into his hammer before slamming it into the granary and it began toppling, both from the hit, the magic bursting over it, and the fire attacking the grain to fuel it. The ground and trees also gained a little color back from the magic as the taint was hit by the holy magic. Arthas motioned the others forward, not noticing their shocked and awed looks at his display of strength and magic, before moving forward with them right behind him. They then encountered a few High Elven priests and archers that had come to aid them in their search but had gotten here before them and were doing guerrilla warfare methods on the skeletons to keep as many skeletons from making it through that section of the city.

Arthas accepted the Elves' help before they pressed on killing more skeletons before they found a pair of dwarves with a mortar firing into a basin below them, "What the hell are you men shooting at?" Arthas shouted before hearing the clinking of bones and saw more skeletons, but now with some swordsmen as well that were also carrying shields, "Footmen form a defensive line in to keep them back, Archers, Riflemen, and Jaina help the mortar team in attacking the undead from a range, and Priests stay between the two groups to heal the injured." Everyone nodded and began holding the enemy back and killing them in return; however, Arthas noticed a revenant moving towards his defensive line and knew his men couldn't hold it back. He dismounted, before running and jumping over the line before slamming his hammer into the helm of the revenant which caused is to recoil backwards slightly. Shadow and Blaze, seeing their master in combat, jumped the lines as well and Shadow started mauling any of the skeletons that came near him, while Blaze kicked away any that came near.

The revenant, from what Arthas could tell, glared at Arthas before mashing its shield at him. Arthas blocked with an open hand and then blocked the mace that came towards him with his hammer. Of course, this angered the revenant as the fire lashed out at it and revenants were beings of unholy, cold, or blood and this one happened to be cold so the fire was not a welcome occurrence. Arthas didn't let up as he shifted and smashed the hammer on the ground while channeling magic through it which caused the revenant to recoil back in pain as the fire hit it and the holy magic was not welcome either as even though it was a being of cold there was still unholy magic keeping it alive. Arthas didn't let up as he smashed his hammer into the shield before twisting and stabbing the chest plate with Leechbane, twisting it out, dropping his hammer after empowering it with magical energy, and then spinning to take out Blood Cleaver and vertically cut the revenant in half as his hammer hit the ground and the magic exploded out and burned the skeletons and the revenant.

Arthas landed on his feet before dropping to one knee and was breathing hard as he had used more magical energy today than he had in his entire time training. Jaina rushed over and gave him a blue vial, "It's a mana potion. It should relieve some of your fatigue and restore some of your magical power." Arthas nodded and drank it before ordering his men to take a few minutes to rest and recuperate their strength. He also had Jaina help him move to the center of the group so his auras would reach everyone and alleviate the priests of their burden of healing the soldiers while the archers gathered any of their arrows that were still usable. After about five minutes everyone stood and retook the formation, which was Priests, Archers, Riflemen, and now the mortar team in the center, the soldiers surrounding the center, Falric, Rane, and Marwyn were in the front line, and Arthas, Jaina, Starfire, Shadow, and Blaze were at the front. Arthas walked for now as he sensed that there was more danger ahead.

True to his instincts they found a mage, some corpses walking around, and some robed figures fleeing the warehouse before a large mutilated body, that appeared to be sown from different corpses, began waddling towards them, "Flee my brothers, we must not let them stop us." Said the mage, who was an older man with glowing green eyes, black and green robes adorned him, a cattle skull was on his head, and his staff gave off a dark presence, before he turned to Arthas, "You should leave well enough alone little prince for you will lose more than you can imagine if you do not turn back." The wizard then fled behind his brothers, but not before summoning more skeletons to fight them.

Arthas gripped his hammer tight, "Mortar team, take out the warehouse, the rest of you handle the skeletons, I'll take care of this… abomination." The soldiers nodded and began to move, while the abomination, upon seeing this, moved to attack before a sword flew past and amputated its back arm, while the sword landed point first into a skeleton. The abomination screamed in pain before turning towards Arthas, who was glaring angrily at it, "You're fighting me, not them." He rushed forward and threw Stone Wrecker at it, said mace was caught by the abomination, and was burned subsequently by it, but the dagger that followed wasn't caught as it was thrown at its leg. It roared in pain, both from the burning and the stabbing of the blade, which gave Arthas the chance to continue as he blasted it with his holy light spell. This further burned the abomination and Arthas injured it even more by slamming his hammer into the left leg, which snapped and was burned, before he pivoted and sliced off its left arm with Blood Cleaver now back in his hand. He then summoned his magic and shot it into the air where it formed a golden hammer, before it came down hard on the head of the abomination and obliterated it. Arthas regained his weapons and felt a surge of strength from Leechbane before he took his hammer and slammed it into the torso of the abomination a few times to get the burning to catch enough and turn the body to ash.

Arthas took a few deep breaths before turning and seeing the others had already wrapped up and were staring at him in awe. Arthas chuckled before recalling his mace, moving over to them, and then moving away from the burning corpse and warehouse to rest. He sat down for a minute which triggered all of his troops to do so as well. They all took a few minutes before Arthas spoke, "We need to go soon, they were heading towards Andorhal and that may mean they have more of the infected grain there. I know you all want to rest, which is why we leave in 10 minutes. Take that time to regain your strength, eat and drink, and get ready for a march." His forces nodded while Jaina sat next to Arthas and Rane sat beside Falric, both women then laid their heads on their respective man's shoulder and relaxed beside him.

_ A Day later: Outskirts of Andorhal _

Arthas, Jaina, and their troops arrived at a clearing to find some cultists begin to summon a construct, which did not sit well with them, "Mortar fire on that construct NOW!" The mortar team fired on the construct while Arthas rode to strike down the cultists which the Riflemen aided by shooting those who tried to get away. Arthas had his men set up a base camp here while he and Jaina scouted the area with five footmen, Shadow, and Falric. They destroyed a few bandit camps, took out a few Troll tribes, and then killed a small group of Ogres. They even found a small abandoned Goblin merchant stall and Arthas took an Orb of Slow, which did as the name suggested, and Jaina took a staff of negation which dispelled summoned units. They were currently thrashing a Murloc camp before Arthas noticed a shadowy figure watching them. He immediately used Holy Light on it and it burst into flames before dying. Arthas then noticed several undead creatures called Ghouls rush out of the forest and attack him. He smashed them aside, which was effective as the fires sprung out and hit the Ghouls and those that survived were moving at a crawling pace.

He killed them off before his eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he saw the corpses rise up into three skeletons each and then saw a robed figure that was different than the one at Brill there waving his staff over the corpses. Arthas took Leechbane and threw it into the Necromancer's skull before smashing the skeletons to pieces. After retaking Leechbane, and getting a magic boost, Arthas then moved to the trees and found a river crossing that led straight to an undead base. He growled in annoyance as he heard explosions and rifle fire coming from the direction of the came before turning to Jaina, "Take the men and get the camp ready to attack from the front. If they are attacking us, then we can attack them in return. Falric and I will distract them by attacking from the side."

Jaina widened her eyes, "Arthas no! You can't handle that many undead for long." She said and Arthas could feel her fear at possibly losing him after she just got him back.

Arthas smiled, "Then you'd better hurry. I won't die on you, I promise." He gave her a kiss and then smiled, "Now go." She nodded and dashed off with the Footmen following her. Falric nodded to Arthas, when said Prince gave him a questioning look, and they both moved towards the base with Shadow right behind them. Arthas started off by filling his hammer with magic and then hurling it into the base.

Once it hit, causing a massive explosion of holy magic that burned and destroyed everything in the area, Arthas rushed in with Blood Cleaver and started hacking down enemy after enemy with Falric right behind him doing mop up and Shadow mauling anything that got close while being careful to only bite the Necromancers. Arthas then threw Blood Cleaver and it turned into a buzzsaw as it bisected, decapitated, amputated, and shredded enemies as it went through the lines. Arthas then recalled his hammer before channeling magic into and slamming the ground which created a shockwave and blasted the undead back away from him and Falric before throwing it into the floating Necropolis with it being charged with even more magic than the last time. He watched as it smashed through one of the walls before the whole Necropolis exploded in golden light and crashed down on more of the undead. He recalled his hammer and sword and continued fighting, though inwardly he was cursing since the Necromancers had an adequate number of corpses to use for skeletal warriors, archers, and magi.

They continued to fight for five minutes, getting more and more tired along the way, before arrows rained down on the undead and mortar fire hit the buildings. Footmen came charging in and started hacking down any enemies in front of them, Priests were dispelling skeletons left and right, Jaina claimed any that weren't destroyed with her gloves' ability, the Riflemen aimed for the Necromancer's, mortar team switched between the buildings and the larger undead targets, Marwyn was cutting down anything that came close to the long range fighters, the Archers were putting down any flying enemies there were, and Rane was pushing through to Arthas and Falric, who were still swatting enemies away. 20 minutes later and they had the base destroyed and the enemy dead, permanently this time as they set the bodies on fire, and they were standing at the last bridge into the actual city of Andorhal.

Arthas ordered them to take a few minutes to rest as they were all tired and beat down while he was feeling drained but not as much as before. Then he remembered the blue potion not only increased his magical abilities, but also made them increase further the more he used them. He smirked slightly as he had been using a lot of magic recently and he could tell that he would probably be using more and more as they continued this quest.

He rose to his feet before marching across the bridge while his troops followed him. They arrived to find the mage from before standing by three granaries. The mage turned towards them, "Ah, you did not heed my warning. No matter, I am Kel'Thuzad and I am the leader of the Cult of the Damned. You are too late to stop what is coming and you will not be able to survive long." With that he sent a few dozen Ghouls at them and left through the northern gate. Arthas grit his teeth and leapt off Blaze and smashed his hammer into the ground in the center of the Ghouls and the shockwave of magic sent them flying everywhere. Some didn't even hit the ground as the Archers, Riflemen, and Jaina blasted them while they were in the air, others landed on the swords of the Footmen, and Arthas had jumped up and smashed a few. The ones that did hit the ground alive were then killed by the Footmen skewering them on the ground.

Arthas gripped his hammer tight and hurled it into the granary, which set it ablaze. Jaina set another on fire with a spell, and the last was hit by the Mortar team. Arthas moved forward looking in the cages that were scattered around and found one with a Ghoul inside that was shaking in fear. Arthas knew the size meant it was a child and the fact that it was cowering meant that it still remembered some of who it was. He sighed and took Leechbane out, "I'm sorry." He said before stabbing the Ghoul in the heart.

As the Ghoul fell he and the others heard the faint whisper, "Thank you mister." Arthas withdrew the blade and took the body before setting it on the fire and having the Footmen do the same for the other Ghouls.

Once the fire was going strong, Arthas noticed the crates, "Damn it! The grain has already been shipped out. We need to deal with Kel'Thuzad and then move out to catch up to the grain before it is consumed." His troops nodded and they moved to the northern gate.

They found a path to the east that Arthas realized must be the local graveyard as he hadn't seen one within the city limits, "Keep your guards up, I think this path leads to the local graveyard. If that is the case then there is no telling what might be waiting for us." The others nodded and followed him in and true to his words; Ghouls came from the trees with Skeletons following. Arthas growled in annoyance and channeled energy into hammer way beyond what he had done before. Jaina, feeling the energy he was channeling, started defending him while summoning three water elementals to aid in the fight while also claiming a few skeletons to attack from both sides. Arthas continued to channel magic into his hammer before slamming it down. The result was a massive shockwave of holy energy that burned the undead while his troops were healed and rejuvenated.

Jaina helped support Arthas before giving him her last mana potion and felt his magical power had increased far from when she met up with him, _"His power has expanded by at least 50%. Whoever that man was that Arthas met, he is dangerous and powerful if he can make the items that do what his notes say."_ Arthas stood and nodded towards her before taking the lead again. He swatted any of the undead that came near him and then smashed an abomination into paste before spinning and smashing the head off a Necromancer. They then viewed a few strange catapults lined up to fire on them. Not giving them a chance to attack, Arthas hurled his hammer into one before throwing the mace into another and Blood Cleaver into a third. The first two were smashed and then set ablaze, while the last was pierced straight through before it was set ablaze as well. Jaina rained ice spears down on the last couple while Arthas recalled his weapons and kept the other undead off of Jaina.

Once everything was dead… again, Jaina and Arthas marched forward and stood before Kel'Thuzad. He sighed tiredly, "You are fools. Even if you kill me, it will mean little in the long run. This world will burn and nothing you do will stop it."

Arthas moved with unparalleled speed and smashed his fist into Kel'Thuzad's face before holding him against one of the crypts by his throat with Leechbane held right between his eyes, "Who commands the undead?" He stated while moving Leechbane down Kel'Thuzad's face to his throat and then to his chest.

Kel'Thuzad was normal on the outside but internally he was joyous, _"Master has chosen wisely with this one. He will make a fine champion and possible leader once he takes the blade."_ "He is a Dreadlord named Mal'Ganis. He awaits you at Stratholm as he wants to face you in combat before he burns your kingdom down to the ground." Arthas snarled and shoved the blade into his heart while feeling the magical power being transferred to him, _"What is this? Is he draining my powers!?"_ Kel'Thuzad thought frantically, but a quick twist from the blade ended that as he died there.

Arthas withdrew the blade put the body in the ground in an open grave before dumping rocks on top of it. He turned and walked back to the main road, "We rest for two hours before we head for Hearthglen. I want you all to pray that we make it there before the infected grain does." He noticed Falric about to speak, "Falric the men are exhausted and can't travel right now. I can't do a mass rejuvenation spell as my mana is too low and Jaina does not know the spell. She and I could ride ahead and possibly make it there in time but you all would be left behind to catch up and we don't know what the situation in Hearthglen is yet. We will ere on the side of caution to keep our casualties low."

Falric nodded and the men all rested, while Jaina approached Arthas. She wrapped her arms around him from behind and spoke, "What troubles you my love?" She stated and was overjoyed to be able to speak with her heart and not worry about anyone hearing her.

Arthas would have smiled if he didn't have such grim thoughts at the moment, "Kel'Thuzad gave up the information too easily. It was almost as if he wanted me to kill him and then go after Mal'Ganis. We may be walking into a trap, but I want that monster's head before I plan anything else."

Jaina nodded, having felt the same way, "I am with you Arthas. We will hunt him down and make him pay for what he has done." Arthas smiled before turning around and giving her a passionate kiss, which she gladly returned. They sat beneath a tree, holding the other in their arms while planning how to better fight the undead. Little did they know that they would be getting plenty of practice soon enough.

** Done, Arthas has begun the path to damnation and is gearing up for his revenge, but will he be alone in his quest or will he have followers to see it through to the end? **

** Yes, I decided to give Falric someone too. Also while it is obvious that Jaina and one other are being paired with Arthas, they will not be alone. **

** And yes I know, I made Arthas' father into a bit of a bigot, bastard, and moron. However, most kings were that way about who their heir married and it was usually the queen who kept them open to it, most times the king allowed when they were without a queen was because their heir couldn't take the throne without a spouse or the heir could forfeit their right if pushed too far. Then there is the fact that if a powerful mage comes and tells you that you should go to the west and it was common for them to have visions of the future or of threats, then you at least send a portion of your military or something in case the threat happens. Both he and Antonidas, the leader of the Dalaran which was the freaking CENTER OF MAGIC IN THE HUMAN KINGDOMS, ignored Medivh's warning, despite the latter being able to sense his power and knowing that there is always the chance that such a thing would occur. I follow a very simple thing both in life and in any strategy exercises/games, "If you are prepared for everything, then you are never surprised by anything." Or it can go, "If you plan for the worst, then you can stop the rest." Then Antonidas fell to the scourge because of his pride. *Sigh* Ok, I'm done venting about idiots and fools. So next time is the defense of Hearthglen and then the Culling of Stratholm for sure, depending on the length of those two events, I may add the landing in Northrend. **

** Also, the reason why Jaina has more magical power than Arthas is because she focuses on magic more than he does. Arthas will become/is an all-around fighter, while Jaina will remain a magic user. **

** Arthas' Auras: 1) Devotion Aura: Paladin ability: Grants increased Defense under the game rules, but I am making it so that the people can guard and block better. **

** 2) Endurance Aura: Gained from Gloves of Haste and Boots of Speed: Grants increased attack and movement speed. **

** 3) Critical Strike: Gained from Sanjaro: Increases likelihood of a fatal strike on an enemy. **

** 4) Burning Aura: Gained from Orb of Fire: Makes weapons release a burst of fire on impact. **

** 5) Brilliance Aura: Gained from Jaina Proudmoore: Increases Mana Regeneration. **

** 6) Healing Aura: Gained from the fountain of Health: Heals allies. **

** 7) Slowing Aura: Gained from Orb of Slow: Attacks slow an enemy's movement and attack speed. **

** Arthas' current forces: Not counting Blaze, Shadow, or himself. **

** 1) Commanders: 1 Archmage, 2 Captains, and 1 Lieutenant. **

** 2) 50 Footmen **

** 3) 15 Riflemen **

** 4) 5 Priests **

** 5) 1 Mortar Team **

** That should be it, later everyone. **


	4. The Purging

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthas and the others are on the trail of Mal'Ganis, but how many people will fall before they can reach him?

**Hello everyone, and welcome to my take on the one of the more aggravating missions for the Humans and then the most controversial event in all of the Human Campaign for Warcraft 3; “The Culling.”**

**A head’s up, in this version of the defense of Hearthglen, there are 5 villages outlying it that the plagued caravan is trying to infect before they attack Hearthglen as well.**

**Lastly, if I forget to mention it, all the weapons of Arthas’ allies, himself included in that as well, unleash a burst of fire when the weapon hits something. So if I fail to mention fire coming from an attack and hitting an enemy, then I apologize.**

**Now, let’s get to what y’all are all here for.**

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Warcraft, Blizzard, or a great many things that will be in this fic except for some OCs. If I owned Warcraft than the Lich King/Arthas would have been a major badass from Day 1 and the Protagonist of the entire series.**

(Author’s Notes)

“Speech”

_“Thoughts”_

_‘Language other than common’_

_(Mental conversations)_

**“Non-Humanoid (Demons, spirits, etc. etc.) speech”**

**_“Above’s thoughts”_ **

**_‘Above’s speech in other language’_ **

**_(Mental conversations)_ **

**Chapter 4: The Purging**

_2 days later just outside the town of Hearthglen_

Arthas, Jaina, and their soldiers moved as fast as possible with a purpose. That purpose? To reach the town of Hearthglen before the plagued grain arrived or at the least to arrive before anyone used the grain.

They had been slowed by native creatures and beings as well as some undead groups they came across, but Arthas and his company would not be slowed and crushed anything that got in their way. Along the way, they picked up a few Footmen returning to Lordaeron, some Riflemen that had permission to hunt, and some priests and sorceresses of the Kirin Tor. Their entire thoughts were on making it on time to stop the town from becoming breeding ground for the dead.

A few minutes later, they arrived to see people start unloading the crates and emptying them into silos. Before they could shout out a warning, the people at the crates groaned before their flesh started paling and they started attacking people. Without a word, Arthas leapt forward throwing Leechbane into one enemy, before moving and throwing Stone Wrecker and Blood Cleaver into two more. He then grabbed Light’s Vengeance and slammed it on to the ground while channeling holy magic through it.

Like all the other times he did this, the holy magic exploded out and started burning the undead. Before anyone could do anything, the watch towers at the three entrances sounded the warning bells and there were shouts of undead coming from all three, “Dammit! Jaina, go and find Uther and bring him here. I’ll stay and hold this location.”

He stated and Jaina widened her eyes in horror, “Arthas no! I can help here.”

She pleaded and Arthas came and put his hands on her shoulders, “Jaina, listen to me. We can’t hold this position with the troops we have. We need reinforcements and you’re our best hope to get them here. Now please, go and take Shadow with you to help find Uther faster.”

He stated and Jaina teared up slightly before kissing him and teleporting away. Arthas turned to his men, “I want 30 Footmen, 10 Riflemen, a mortar team, 2 priests, and a sorceress at each entrance. Falric, you take the North with 15 archers, Marwyn take the Northwest with 15 archers, and I’ll take the West with the remaining 10. We must hold these positions.”

Arthas ordered and the men moved out while Arthas turned to the townspeople, “I want you to get all explosives and ordinance you have to our lines and then barricade yourselves within the Town Hall and arm yourselves with anything you have.”

The townspeople nodded and began following instructions while Arthas moved to the silos and smashed his hammer into them which cracked the foundations before setting the silos ablaze. He made sure they would burn entirely before he moved to the West entrance to the town. He didn’t have to wait long before the gunfire rang out from all three entrances, “We got undead coming lads, stuff ‘em full of lead.”

One of the dwarves shouted before explosions rang out too from the Mortar teams. Arthas then saw a horde of Ghouls and skeletons start charging at his position before he took hold of Blood Cleaver and threw it like a buzzsaw and watched as it cleaved through the undead before embedding itself into the tree… after cleaving through 3 others. He had to stop and smirk when he saw the trees smash down on top of more undead and made the roads to the entrance harder to maneuver.

Seeing this as advantageous, Arthas threw Light’s Vengeance and Stone Wrecker into more trees thereby barricading the paths even more and squashing a few more undead. The reason this was advantageous was because the trees ahead were so clustered, that the undead would have to cut down a large quantity to get to the town. That meant that to crush the town quickly, they would need to take the main roads… which were now blocked. While their foot soldiers would be able to get through with a little trouble, the heavy units would be slowed considerably.

However, his thoughts were broken when a large skeleton dressed in robes and a headdress with an ice cold deathly aura approaching him, **“Foolish mortal, this world will burn and all will bow…”**

It started to speak before it was cut off, “Oh will you shut up!” Arthas yelled before he threw his hammer and it slammed into the skeleton’s torso hurtling it back. It got up to see Arthas appear already mid-swing with Blood Cleaver before Arthas brought the blade down through it while channeling holy magic through it.

The body burst into flames before the skeleton’s soul launched into the air and dispersed. Arthas turned and saw his men had finished off the Ghouls and skeletons, “Men secure the area and gather some of anything the villagers had available. I’m going to check on the other two entrances.”

His men nodded and five Footmen moved to the town hall while the others checked their ammo and weapons. Arthas made it to the Northwest entrance and found several dozen corpses of the Undead there and Arthas channeled holy magic into his hammer before slamming it down on the ground and watched as the magic destroyed the corpses and healed his troops. He then destroyed a few trees on both sides to block the main roads and help buy time.

He nodded to Marwyn before heading for the North entrance and repeated the same process as he did at the Northwest before he went to the Town Hall and moved some explosives to the areas by the trees that he fell and retook his position. He arrived just in time for a new wave of Ghouls and skeletons to come charging in and he and his troops accepted them in kind and Arthas used more magic to help even the odds and was once again thanking the me for giving him those items as he doubted that he would have this much mana if he hadn’t gotten those items.

He sent out another shockwave of holy magic and decimated their forces before breaking more trees down to block the paths more. As he heard a horn call, he and his men all felt a cold chill go down their spine and it was confirmed as a horde came pouring out from the woods with ghostly women now as well. Arthas channeled his magic into his hammer and slammed it into the ground shattering the skeletons and Ghouls while the women screamed and vanished. Arthas ran and got to the Northwest entrance before he used more magic and destroyed a few more trees and then did the same actions at the northern one.

He came back to his area and directed 10 Footmen and 3 Riflemen to go to each entrance and reinforce them as his magical abilities would make up for their absence. The soldiers, knowing not to doubt him or his claims, saluted and moved out to reinforce their comrades’ positions. Arthas turned and waited while inwardly praying that Jaina would return soon.

_At Lordaeron [The Capitol]_

Jaina had just arrived at the Capitol and quickly began searching for Uther, “You! Where is Lord Uther? It’s an emergency!”

She told to a soldier stationed nearby, who recognized her, “Oh! Lady Jaina, Lord Uther just left on an assignment from the King. If you hurry you may be able to catch up to him.”

He stated and Jaina nodded before riding away on Starfire with Shadow keeping pace with her and going as fast as possible through the city while she internally was cursing her mana reserves as that far of a teleport dropped her reserves to just barely a newbie’s and that pissed her off as she needed to get Uther and the Silver Hand Knights to Hearthglen quickly. Of course, now that she was exhausted, they would have to ride the distance. However, she first had to find him.

_(10 minutes later)_

Jaina was riding hard and fast trying to find Uther and save her love before she came to split in the road with both sides having fresh tracks. She stayed there a minute trying to decide which way to go while Shadow was smelling the ground before he perked up and looked towards the woods by the fork. She was confused about his behavior before she spotted a man dressed in black with crimson designs pointing to the right path, _(If you want to save Arthas, then ride that way, fast)._

She heard echo in her mind and for some reason felt the need to listen, and Shadow seemed calm regarding him, and rode off in that direction while the man in black disappeared in a burst of black fire.

She rode for another 10 minutes before finally catching sight of the Silver Hand Knights. She urged Starfire forward to get closer, “LORD UTHER!”

She shouted as she rode forward and caused the group to stop as she arrived in front of them and Uther saw her before seeing Shadow and knew something must be wrong, “Jaina, what are you doing here girl?”

Uther asked and noticed she looked exhausted and so did her horse, “It… It’s Arthas.”

She gasped out as the adrenaline she felt from her worry for Arthas was wearing off and her body caught up to the loss of mana she had experienced. Uther moved up and kept her horse calm while he held his hand up to her, “Easy there, lass. Take a moment to catch your breath and then tell me what’s going on.”

He stated calmly, while internally was worried about what could have happened that Jaina had to leave Arthas and find him here. Jaina listened and took a moment, “The plague, it turns living people into the undead.” She stated and the Knights widened their eyes in shock, “Arthas and I tracked the source to Andorhal and destroyed the source, but we were too late and some infected grain was sent to Hearthglen. We killed the leader of the cult that is the cause of this mess and rode to Hearthglen, but by the time we arrived the grain was distributed and people were infected.”

She stated before having to stop to take a breath, while the Knights were all shocked, “Breathe lass, what happened then?”

Uther stated, while getting a bad feeling, and Jaina regained her breath, “We killed the infected, when they turned, and found Hearthglen was surrounded. Arthas told me to come find you while he defended the town, I argued with him but he told me there was no other way and I transported myself to the capitol where the soldiers told me you had just left, so I rode to find you.”

She stated and Uther gripped his hammer tightly, “Damn fool of a boy.” He stated, while internally feeling proud of Arthas for defending the people and ensuring help came, “Everyone mount up! We ride for Hearthglen!”

He ordered and his second in command, a woman named Minerva Malorian, spoke up, “Sir, the king ordered us to patrol the northern borders.”

(A/N Minerva is an OC so don’t try to google her as you won’t find her).

She stated, while not really caring what the king ordered but felt she should inform her commander about it. Though if she were honest, she would admit that she loved Uther, but would never get him in trouble or jeopardize his command by seeking his love.

Uther sighed and nodded, “Yes, I know. We are on a bit of a double-edged sword as we can either listen to the king and leave his son to die or ignore his orders and save his son. I for one am not going to leave the boy to die and anyone with me can prepare to ride while the rest proceed as ordered.”

He stated as he got ready to ride and turned to Jaina, “Do you think you could transport us to Hearthglen?”

He asked with hope, before that hope was crushed when Jaina shook her head, “No, I used too much mana transporting the three of us to Lordaeron and can’t do another one for a while.”

She stated and Uther nodded, though inwardly he wasn’t surprised as she had transported herself, her horse, and Shadow from Hearthglen to Lordaeron so it was natural for her to be exhausted. Uther turned to his soldiers, “Let’s move out!”

He ordered and they all began riding east towards Hearthglen, while hoping they wouldn’t be too late.

_Back at Hearthglen: An hour later_

Arthas was getting annoyed and his troops were getting tired, of course he fixed that with some rejuvenation spells but even he had limits, and were running low on ammo/mana for a few of them. Now, he just had some villagers from a neighboring village come and warn him that a convoy of plague carrying undead are raiding villages and bringing back their victims.

Arthas grit his teeth at that thought and smashed a few more trees down and moved the explosives to a better point for his riflemen to hit if needed while he moved to hit the caravan. While many would argue it was exceedingly dangerous for him to do this solo, only a few enemies in that caravan could be a real threat as he could use his holy magic to destroy the real undead and then he could deal with the siege weapons and Necromancers.

Blaze, sensing his master’s urgency, ran fast and hard through the trees trying to make it to the next village and cut off the convoy. He rode and made it to the third town in line and sat there with the villagers looking at him with curiosity and respect on their faces, “All of you, pack up everything vital and proceed through the road to the next few towns and have them leave as well and keep traveling until you get to Hearthglen. Any and all soldiers get your armor and weapons ready and defend the civilians and then reinforce the soldiers at Hearthglen, there is an enemy force attacking the town and they may try to ambush you all. NOW!”

He stated and then shouted when no one moved and then watched as they started scrambling. A soldier approached and Arthas turned towards him, “You! You’re in charge of the convoy, get everyone out regardless of the items you have to leave behind but take as much ammunition and explosives as you can without jeopardizing the convoy.”

Arthas ordered before riding off towards the second village. A few minutes later, he arrived just as the second village was getting attacked. He leapt off Blaze and charged his hammer before hurling it at the ground where the magic erupted out in a wave and burned the undead while the Meat Wagons burned from the fire erupting from the attack. Arthas turned sharply as he landed and beheaded a Ghoul with Blood Cleaver before he threw Leechbane into a Necromancer and then contorted slightly to smash an Abomination with Stone Wrecker.

He stood there with his Blackrock clan weapons at the ready as the few undead left advanced on him. He threw Blood Cleaver like a buzzsaw and watched it cut them to shreds before he recalled it and his other weapons back. When Leechbane returned, he was happy to feel his mana reserves refill slightly and his muscles lose some of the ache. He turned to the remaining villagers and debated what could happen if they turned while on the way back to Hearthglen before he heard a voice, _(Use your holy magic on them. If they are infected then they will burn, if not then they are clean and can live)._

Arthas stiffened hearing my voice, _(How are you talking to me and how do you know that will work?)_

He replied while being skeptical, _(The more you question me, the longer Hearthglen is under attack without you there.)_

I replied and Arthas begrudgingly agreed before he channeled magic into his hammer and slammed it onto the ground. The magic went out like a wave and hit the villagers before a few dozen villagers burst into flames and a few villagers tried to help them, “DON’T TOUCH THEM!”

He yelled and saw the villagers freeze and he looked sadly at the villagers, “They are infected, there is nothing to be done except keep them from becoming the monsters that attack our home.”

He stated and the few villagers stopped burning and laid there dead, “All of you pack and leave for Hearthglen.” He stated before a large explosion echoed out from near Hearthglen and Arthas bit back a curse before mounting Blaze and looked to the villagers, “Follow the road to go up and around to the northern entrance, I have to get back immediately to help with the defenses.” He ordered before riding off.

A few minutes later, he arrived at his entrance just in time to smash another of those headdress wearing skeletons and destroy more of the undead. He found his men in dented armor and tired with few rounds let to keep loading. Using his regained mana, he used rejuvenation on them before moving to the other entrances and found a few soldiers had fallen and he healed the surviving troops before moving back to his entrance and praying Jaina and reinforcements would arrive soon. If not, then he was completely prepared to order an evacuation and stay behind to fight.

_Hours later_

Arthas was breathing heavily and was getting tired as they had struck down thousands of undead and they just kept coming at the town. He was starting to consider the fallback plan and his only grateful item at the moment was the outlying villagers had arrived safely with more ammo and some more bodies to defend with. However, even that was not lasting real long in their current situation.

Arthas was about to order a retreat before he felt a ping in the back of his mind that he somehow knew meant Jaina was getting close to them and he started gazing at the trees and tower before an idea came to mind, “Men fall back to the Hall!”

He ordered and his men didn’t question him as the Riflemen moved inside the Town walls and fired as they moved. Arthas flung his sword, hammer, and mace and toppled down the last few trees that would be beneficial before setting them ablaze when Ghouls started crawling over them. He then ran inside the wall and started slamming his hammer into the tower before it finally gave way and fell over blocking the western path.

He fell back with his men before moving to the northwest and north entrances and doing the same method. He then placed the last few explosives on his side of the three piles of rubble and turned towards the hall. Said hall was a large stone building sitting within a walled courtyard and a gate at the front. Arthas looked over his men, “Riflemen and Archers, take up positions in the Hall, Men create a shield wall in front of it and close the gate, Priests and Sorceresses take up between the Hall and wall. Mortar teams inside the wall, I want you to fire over it at my signal and don’t stop unless ordered or you run out of ammunition.”

He ordered and his men looked at him curiously and Falric spoke up, “Sir, where will you be?”

He asked and the men were curious as well as they knew there was no way their leader was going to sit out of this fight, not after everything he went through to ensure they made it this far. Arthas kept his face straight, while Blaze entered the gate, and he simply said, “I will be outside the gate holding them back.”

Silence echoed as even the undead hordes trying to breach the makeshift walls could not be heard as his soldiers stared at him in shock and outrage. Falric and Marwyn looked at their commander and future king with the same level of respect they always had as they knew fully well why he was doing this, one man’s life vs the lives of his soldiers and people? It was an easy decision for Arthas to make and it made their decision all the easier to follow.

Falric and Marwyn shared a look before nodding to their men. When the shield wall was formed, they closed the gate as the men barred it and took their places beside Arthas, “Gentlemen, I don’t believe I ordered you to stand beside me.”

He stated and they both smirked, “That’s true milord, but you never ordered us to do otherwise either. Thus we are standing by our commander as is our duty.”

Falric stated and Arthas smirked as he readied Light’s Vengeance and Blood Cleaver as he could hear the hordes getting closer, “Been an honor, gentlemen.”

Arthas stated and the two saluted him, “The honor was ours, sir.” They stated and took their stances as they gazed at the three entrances before they noticed Ghouls and Skeletons climbing/crawling over the rubble. Arthas smirked before he stabbed Blood Cleaver into the ground and threw Leechbane into one of the explosives and then recalled it before it detonated blowing the undead apart and the rubble backwards crushing more undead from the force. Arthas then did the same with the other two entrances before sheathing Leechbane and taking Blood Cleaver into his hand.

They didn’t have to wait long before the undead began swarming their position, “Mortar teams, now!” Arthas ordered and the mortars fired over the walls and rained death down onto the undead inflicting heavy casualties on them. Unfortunately, they did not have many rounds remaining and had to dump the mortars before they took out war axes and joined the shield lines while the archers and Riflemen continued firing while some of the villagers began throwing oil, beer, and wine barrels on to the undead.

Arthas smirked seeing this and threw Blood Cleaver like a buzzsaw and watched as it cut through the enemies and set them aflame which then set more aflame when the other undead just walked over them. Arthas noticed Abominations and threw his hammer and then spun and chopped through Ghouls as they came upon him and noticed his hammer smash through the Abominations and set them on fire.

He noticed Falric and Marwyn were holding their own and putting their shield training to good use by bashing one enemy while they stabbed or cleaved through another. However, he knew they wouldn’t be able to keep this up. He could as he had been getting better and better ever since he used those scrolls and potions, but his men could only go for so long.

With that in mind, Arthas channeled as much magical power into his hammer as he could before slamming it onto the ground. The shockwave that went out obliterated all the undead for over a 20 yards and his men felt their wounds and fatigue fade away while Arthas stood there panting having felt even more drained then at Andorhal.

It was then he heard more coming and looked up just in time to put Blood Cleaver in front of him and block a blast of ice that encased the blade into his hand. Arthas looked up to see the skeleton that he had cut in half there, **“I told you, mortal, that there would be no hope for…”**

He was cut off by being smashed in the… skull by the frozen Blood Cleaver, which then freed itself by the fire being released. Before the Lich, which was its proper title, could react, Leechbane was planted firmly in its skull and was feeling its powers draining into the blade.

Arthas moved his hand a few times to get the numbness out while noticing his bracer had shattered from the cold before he recalled Leechbane and felt his mana refill. He surveyed the area as he swung both of his weapons through the undead and noticed Falric was surrounded. He spun cutting the enemies around him before throwing his hammer through the mob and clearing a path for Falric to regroup.

However, Arthas was then sent into pain as his back felt like it was ripped open and he was suddenly propelled forward. Falric saw this and charged through to get to him, while Marwyn was trying to keep the undead from the gates. Arthas got up and turned to see an Abomination standing there with a now bloody sickle in one of its hands.

Arthas grit his teeth and got up before throwing Leechbane into its head only to feel claws bite into his side and he grabbed the offending Ghoul’s head and crushed it before pulling the claws out of his side and threw them into another undead. Arthas glared at the gathered undead and ripped off his now torn cloak and removed his now destroyed chest plate before he recalled Leechbane back to his hand and felt his wounds heal slightly before he threw it again into a Necromancer and then started smashing and cleaving through more undead while Falric, seeing his lord was ok, moved to back up Marwyn.

Arthas threw his sword and hammer into the masses while spinning and taking Stone Wrecker into one hand and calling Leechbane back into his other hand and started carving a way back to the gates. He then threw Leechbane into another Necromancer and Stone Wrecker into a Meat Wagon, before Blood Cleaver and Light’s Vengeance were back in his hands.

He sent Blood Cleaver out again as he channeled his newly restored mana into his hammer and sent it out again. Before he was smashed in the side and sent flying into the gate, which dented on impact. He got up and noticed the second Lich he faced there and also noticed that the shield wall was split slightly because some of the Ghouls climbed the walls and the soldiers had to break off to fight them.

As Arthas stood up, the Lich could only stare in wonder, **_“This man is powerful. Multiple times now, he has used high level magic and brought down many undead, taken hits, and still gets up to deal and take more damage.”_**

The Lich thought before Arthas appeared before him in mid-swing with his hammer and he smashed the Lich into the ground as its skull shattered into pieces and the soul shot into the air again. Arthas moved back by the gate and used the last of the mana he had retrieved with Leechbane back in his hand before he slammed the hammer one last time on the ground.

The wave went out and destroyed the undead but there wasn’t enough to rejuvenate his soldiers and they were all exhausted and the gates were hanging on by thread, so to speak. Falric and Marwyn were barely standing and Arthas was still bleeding from his wounds from earlier as there wasn’t much vitality to get absorbed from the undead and the Necromancers were low in that area as they had traded a large part of their life to whatever being gave them their powers in the first place.

Arthas now stood, albeit barely, while having trouble breathing as he was exhausted and drained at the moment but his determination wouldn’t let him fall. He stood straight and held his weapons at the ready as more undead came. Arthas charged forward and smashed aside a group of Ghouls before blocking a sword from a skeleton and then kicked it into a group behind it before he bit back a yell as he felt claws rake across his back. His response was to spin and decapitate a group of undead before he grabbed the claws of a few and threw them into more of the undead.

He then threw Blood Cleaver and it cut through the undead before planting itself into an Abomination and he drew Leechbane and threw it into another one before drawing Stone Wrecker and throwing it into some Meat Wagons. He bit back another yell as a Ghoul slipped past and scraped its claw across his chest and hit his legs too. Arthas grunted and grabbed the Ghoul before throwing it into a few more. Arthas took a few breaths and held his hammer at the ready, “Light, give me strength.”

He stated before getting another swing off as a Ghoul dove at him and cut him diagonally across the face with three claws before Arthas dived backwards away from where a Meat Wagon fired on him and he landed in a heap by the gate again and got to his knee by planting the hammer in the ground and pulled himself up slightly.

A Ghoul came at him and he managed to get a fist into it and knock it away before he had to catch himself. He watched the approaching undead army and sighed slightly wishing he had more time with Jaina, but before any could get close, ice started raining down and impaling the undead. Arthas saw this and smirked knowing his love had arrived with aid if the hoof beats he heard were any indication. Arthas took a breath of relief as he saw the mass of knights ride the undead down and Uther striking the Abominations and destroying the Ghouls while Jaina came up to him with a worried expression, “Arthas! Are you alright?”

She stated while his hunched over appearance hid his wounds from her and Arthas bit back a witty reply and just simply pulled her into a kiss, with her head turned so her eyes wouldn’t see his wounds, which she gladly returned, before he pulled back, with her eyes still somewhat closed and he had his head down, “I’m better now, but you need to help Uther and the knights finish this.”

He stated and she nodded before beginning to cast spells again at the undead horde. The knights rode down the Ghouls, skeletons, and Necromancers, while Sorceresses and Priests destroyed Abominations and Uther attacked the Liches and Meat Wagons. Within 10 minutes, the undead were… dead and the now ruined town was safe.

Uther and Jaina turned to address Arthas before they froze at getting a better look at him, which Jaina didn’t get in the heat of the moment and ensuring Arthas was alive. A good portion of his golden blonde hair was stained red with blood and more of the red liquid was going down his face, his torso was free of his armor and bleeding badly, his back was probably just as bad if the slight pool of blood directly behind him was any indication, and his pants were bloody as well.

Arthas smiled at them before he started falling over only to be caught by Falric, who was in dented and practically destroyed armor with a shield just as bad and a sword that was chipped all over, and Marwyn, who was in similar attire as Falric and both of his swords were chipped, with Shadow pushing him from behind, “We got you, sir.”

Falric stated and Arthas nodded slightly as he was starting to get weak from blood loss before they set him down into a sitting position. Uther and Jaina ran up to him, “Get those Priests to the soldiers and townspeople and get the wounds fixed then split your rations among them. They’ve been through Hell and deserve some respite.”

Uther ordered as he came to Arthas and hit him with a Holy Light spell. Arthas sighed slightly as he felt his wounds heal partially before Uther hit him with the magic again and he felt the wounds heal the rest of the way. Arthas then flexed his hand and stabbed Blood Cleaver into the ground, followed by Leechbane, which gave him some strength back, and then dug Stone Wrecker into the ground. He looked up at Uther, his new three scars showing on his face with him being lucky enough that the claws missed his eyes, “Thank you Uther, but I feel the others could use your abilities more than I, at the moment. You should also have some men burn the corpses as the plague may come from them too.”

He stated and saw Uther about to speak, “I am not going anywhere for now Uther, we can talk when you’re done.” He stated before being tackled backwards with a pair of lips on his and drops of water hitting his face.

Noticing it was Jaina that was on top of him; he wrapped his, still very sore, arms around her and deepened the kiss before being momentarily surprised when she pressed her tongue against his lips. Naturally, he let her in and then had a bit of a battle with her before she pulled back with tears still flowing from her eyes, “Never do that again, you jerk. I could’ve lost you!”

She nearly shouted before Arthas smiled apologetically at her and pulled her into his chest while she continued to cry into his chest and he began running his hand through her hair, “I’m sorry, my love. But it had to be done to protect the others.”

He stated and just held her as she lay there, while the three others smiled at the sight and moved to check on the men. Jaina cried for a few more moments before she settled down and looked up at him, “Next time, I don’t care what you want, I am staying with you. I did not go through all those years to finally get you in my life just to lose you again.”

She stated and Arthas kissed her again before pulling them up to sit against the wall, “I understand my love, but if I lost you, then I fear I may have been lost entirely and then you, me, and this entire town and our soldiers would be dead. The Town I would feel guilty about, the men would haunt me, myself I don’t care, but you, if I lost you then I don’t know what I would do. I love you Jaina, and I can’t ever lose you or it will be the end of me.”

He stated with his eyes never leaving hers and she smiled at him as more tears came from her eyes and she just held him and snuggled deeper into his chest, loving his warmth, _“I will love you always, Arthas. Though I feel I may have to share you in the future, I can live with it so long as you love us equally.”_ She thought happily with a blush forming on the last part.

_Next day: ruined town of Hearthglen_

The next day gave way to a few people with gob smacked expressions on their faces. Why you ask? Because Arthas was walking around like nothing happened, heck if it wasn’t for the new scars then no one would have even been able to tell that he was involved in the fighting the day before. He was also decked out in a cerulean blue armor that had shown up the night before with a message saying, _Should do for now, least till the right armor comes along._ Arthas and Jaina had a feeling on who left it but didn’t question it and he wore it.

Right now, Arthas and Jaina were walking, arm in arm, to find Uther as they were heading out in a few hours for Stratholme and Arthas wanted to give Uther his items before they left. A few minutes later, they found him directing a few of the Town Guardsmen to prepare to escort the caravan from Hearthglen to Lordaeron that was transporting the refugees, “You stay on the main road unless absolutely necessary, these undead retches are dangerous enough in the open and there is no telling how they would do in a more confined space like the forests.”

He stated and the soldiers nodded and Uther turned to see Arthas and Jaina, which caused him to smile slightly at seeing the two together at last, “Uther we need to talk.”

Arthas stated seriously and Uther merely nodded and followed them to just outside the town with Blaze right behind them. When they got to the outside, Jaina let go of Arthas and he took a bundle off of Blaze’s saddle and handed it to Uther, who raised an eyebrow at it before seeing a note attached. Grabbing the note, he began to read it _Greeting Uther Lightbringer, yes I know your name and your exploits. I am Damon Corvus and beyond my name, anything else about me is unimportant and irrelevant. In the bundle, that Arthas has just given you, are items that will aid you in your travels and also aid Arthas. Before you ask, no, Arthas has not read this letter as it was keyed to your magical power. More importantly, stay with Arthas. He has a destiny you cannot even begin to imagine and will need your help to deal with different matters, and enemies, that arise. I wish you the best of luck. We will meet in the future when I need to see Arthas again._

Uther read the note and then gave an ‘are you serious’ look to Arthas. Arthas nodded and motioned him to read the items. Uther shrugged and pulled a wrapped bundle out that had his named on it. He unwrapped it and revealed an ornate ivory handled claymore style great sword sitting in a sheath that was black lacquered and from the feel was extremely sturdy. He pulled on the handle to reveal the blade which appeared to be made of pure silver and slightly serrated on both edges. He gazed at the beautiful sword and moved to the other items and found a silver helm that had a pair of angel like wings swooped back over where his ears would be and a bundle of scrolls and potions tied together.

He took the blade up and read the note attached, _Champion’s Light: The Blade of Will’s Fire: This blade was formed from silver blessed by the archbishop, high priestess, and high inquisitor to be made as the ultimate weapon of light and was forged with a phoenix feather placed at the core of it. It will never harm an ally of its user and will strike down anyone who is against them. This blade does not only cut, it shreds, stabs, saws, and tears when committing an injury, what that injury is depends on what would be most effective against the current enemy. Only the wielder may use it effectively, but an ally of the user may use it so long as their intentions are not harmful towards the user. This is done through the blade binding itself to the first person who draws it, which was insured to be you as only you could unwrap the items._

Uther widened his eyes and looked at Arthas, who just smirked and motioned for him to continue. Uther laid the blade down and opened the note attached to the helm, _Helm of Insight: This Helm was crafted from the goddess of the hunt’s blessings and greatest game. The helm increases the user’s intuition and tactical mind and increases the natural senses of the user while also granting the ability of foresight up to 5 seconds into the future. Another boon granted is the ability to project your mind and vision to allow you to see a distance away, with complete clarity, if the distance is within your sight. Note: Nothing in the area will see your projection and there may be disorientation upon ending the second ability. Recommended to be kept to short distances until user has mastered/adjusted to the disorientation._

Uther had a slack jaw and twitching eye as he read the note and immediately grabbed the note attached to the scrolls and read it, _These scrolls serve a strong purpose. Place them on your torso for them to engrave runes upon it. It will NOT be painful, if you doubt it then ask Jaina and Arthas. The first will increase your muscles to be able to gain power but they won’t become bulky and uncomfortable. The second enables magic to be sent through your weapons and released upon impact/contact. The third will bind your other items to you and will allow you to bind a person to you that will stay by you forever, who this person is will be your choice, but, naturally, this is meant for the woman you love. You know of whom I speak. The fourth will increase your spell powers and control over them. The fifth will empower your body; becoming stronger, faster, more agile, smarter, becoming immune to poisons and toxins as encountered, and faster at analyzing a situation. The last one is important, it will make it so any weapon that has accepted you as the user will be locked on to you so it will return if thrown simply by flexing your hand and channeling a small bit of mana to the hand._

Uther let a silent whistle out before he set them aside, while internally sighing knowing who the third scroll esd meant for, and read the potions note, while noting that there was a red, blue, silver, black, and white potion in the bundle, _These potions are permanent and will never fade away no matter the order you drink them nor if you drink another potion not of this bundle._ _Blue will increase magical power to that of a High Mage and the powers grow the more that magic is used. Red is a concoction that will permanently allow the body to heal minor wounds while stopping some of the more serious ones from becoming too life threatening while also making it so the more you fight, the stronger you will get. Case in point, the reason Arthas was still breathing while in the state he was in. Silver will increase your movement and attack speed, which in addition to your body being empowered will make you quite fast. Black will increase your fighting ability and destructive spells and abilities, while you may believe you don’t possess destructive spells, I promise that you do possess them especially against your current enemies. Finally, White increases your beneficial spells and the auras you generate. WARNING: They all taste HORRIBLE, so you may gag or feel the urge to vomit!_

Uther chuckled a bit at the last part but then saw Arthas and Jaina shake their heads indicating that he wasn’t exaggerating. Uther shrugged and downed them all in one go apiece, while coughing slightly, “By the light, I haven’t tasted something so foul since that strange brewer talked me into tasting that stormsnout brew.”

He stated before he took his cuirass off and placed the scrolls against his chest and the runes implanted on him. Like Arthas, his muscles bulged before restricting back. Uther took a few deep breaths while getting used to this new feeling before he placed his cuirass back on and then placed the helmet on and widened his eyes as he felt his mind expand and his senses kick up a gear.

He braced himself against a tree as he allowed his senses to adjust before he picked up his new blade and strapped it to his back. Before leveling a patented ‘mentor’ glare at Arthas. Arthas sighed and leaned against a tree while Jaina leaned against his chest, “He met me on the road from Strahnbrad to the encampment of Blackrock Orcs. He gave me items as well and we had a talk too, he said he was my ally and he was ensuring that I, and anyone I cared about, survived to fulfill my destiny.”

Arthas stated while both he and Jaina handed Uther their notes while Uther handed them his. Uther widened his eyes to dinner plate proportions and Jaina and Arthas smirked and whistled respectfully at reading it, “Arthas, who is this man?”

Uther asked as he began getting over his shock and saw Arthas shrug, “Someone powerful that apparently wants me and those I care about to live and fight something that is coming. There is a bundle for Muradin too, but it says to keep it until we run into him somewhere next.”

Uther frowned, “And was there a similar note for Jaina and I?”

Uther asked inquisitively and Arthas nodded, “I was told to give Jaina’s to her when I met her on the King’s Road and to give you yours after Hearthglen. That tells me that he knows at least some of what is going to happen, which means that we will definitely meet up with Muradin at some point. Though he seems to be careful not to inform anyone of any future events. He leaves hints and clues to it, but doesn’t come out and say it and he even gave me a bit of advice to finding out if someone is infected by the plague or not.”

Arthas stated and Uther decided to file that last bit of info away for later and Jaina looked up at her love, “Arthas, what does this man look like?”

She asked and Uther nodded as well and Arthas closed his eyes for a moment, “I never saw his face, but his armor was a cross between metal and leather and was black with crimson markings and trimmings on it.”

Arthas stated and Jaina widened her eyes before looking up at Arthas, “I saw him! He showed himself at a fork in the road I arrived at while trying to find Uther. He told me which way to go to find him.”

She stated and Arthas and Uther shared a look that said all that needed to be said, _He may be our ally, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t also an enemy._ Arthas then sighed, “We’ll worry about him later, for now we should prepare to head for Stratholme and catch the leader of this damned Scourge.”

The two of them nodded and they all moved to gather their forces.

_3 days later: Just outside Stratholme_

Arthas, Uther, and Jaina were riding at the front of their small army, which had grown on the way as, when they passed villages and towns, every soldier or able bodied man rushed to join the march that had Uther the Lightbringer and Prince Arthas leading it.

They had arrived just outside of Stratholme with appropriate weather, meaning lots of rain, and the three of them were on a hill overlooking the city while their commanders, as a few Kirin Tor operatives came to support Jaina when she had not returned yet, were organizing the troops to get a basecamp set up for any possible refugees that needed to be taken out of the city.

As they gazed over the city, the three thought back to meeting that strange prophet again and his repeated attempts to get them to leave and go to Kalimdor. They had shrugged him off, though they all felt power from him, and continued towards Stratholme.

Jaina gazed over the city, “It seems relatively peaceful and calm.”

She stated while Arthas grunted, “So do the seas before a terrifying storm.” He stated and Uther was about to ask about the plague before Arthas noticed something and grit his teeth, “DAMMIT! The grain has already arrived, Uther we have to go through and destroy the infected. I know it seems heartless, but I promise you that there is no other way. We won’t kill the innocent and uninfected, but we can’t allow the infected to join up with the other undead forces.”

He stated and Jaina trusted Arthas when he stated there was no other way as that one scroll had connected them and she could tell when he was nervous, lying, or enraged. Uther sighed when he saw that Jaina wasn’t saying there that was another way, “Alright Arthas, but how do we tell if someone is infected or not?”

He relented and asked and Arthas nodded his thanks for his support, “Our Holy Magic burns them to ash. All we have to do is gather citizens and then release bursts of Holy Magic. Those that burn are infected and those that don’t can be moved to the refugee area.”

He stated and Uther nodded and they started down the hill, “Jaina, I want you to stay in the refugee area as it will need to be defended and, while you can learn any spells we use, you can’t just charge Holy Magic and then release it.”

He stated and Jaina pouted before nodding, “Alright love, but if you get injured then I am coming to get you and that is final.”

She stated and Arthas nodded before they reached the camp, “Alright, a third of the army will stay here and escort/protect any refugees that we get out of the city. Another third will be going with Uther and I each to clear out the city and save who we can.”

He stated and the soldiers saluted before they began dividing themselves. However, everyone stopped when Arthas suddenly turned and threw his hammer through a tree. They watched as a demon slightly larger than Arthas stepped out. It had a humanoid head, pale skin, black eyes, no hair and two horns on its head, a pair of large bat-like wings, and had a green glow about him, **“I have been waiting for you, young Prince. I… am Mal’Ganis.”**

The now named Mal’Ganis stated before the sounds of crashing and screaming echoed out, **“As you can see, your people… are now mine! I will now turn this city household by household… until the flame of life has been snuffed out forever!”**

He stated before vanishing in a swarm of bats when Arthas threw Blood Cleaver at him, “Dammit! Everyone move out, Uther, you take the east side of the city, I’ll take the west, and we’ll meet in the middle.”

Arthas stated before he and his brigade moved while Uther nodded to Jaina and moved as well. Arthas and his group moved in and his men started clearing buildings of people and gathering them in front of Arthas where he would channel magic into his hammer and send out a wave of magic and sent the ones who didn’t burn to the refugee point as fast as they could and Arthas then set the buildings aflame to burn out any plague that may be left and mark the area as cleared.

He then turned and flung Leechbane into a Necromancer before throwing Blood Cleaver and cut through an array of Ghouls and skeletons that were approaching a house. His men moved to intercept them while Arthas leapt over and smashed the door down before he entered and got the family out as Meat Wagons fired on the house. He channeled and released his magic again before hurling the hammer at the Meat Wagons. He recalled his hammer and his men checked the other buildings and homes before Arthas did his check and then sent the remaining ones on their way as he set the cleared buildings on fire and moved deeper all the while praying that the city wasn’t lost yet.

Uther was following a similar method and was saying prayers over the fallen before he broke the supports of the buildings. He was stalled when a group of Abominations and a pack of Ghouls came at his group. Uther, reacting on instinct, threw his hammer at one before drawing his new blade and cutting down the Ghouls while the civilians fled out of the city with his soldiers blocking the undead.

Uther dodged a sickle before planting the blade in an Abomination’s gut where the serrated edges grew into full blades and shot out of all the sides of the Abomination before shrinking back as Uther pulled his blade out.

He then spun and brought the blade up and saw as the serrated edges vibrated and sawed through another Abomination. He then spun again and sent out a wave of Holy Magic, which lit the undead on fire, before he froze at seeing zombie-like beings approaching him and he grit his teeth, “Push forward men, they are converting the infected and uninfected too quickly.”

He shouted as he continued cutting down the undead and his men pushed the undead back and cut them down while Uther took a page from Arthas’s book and channeled energy into his hammer and slammed it onto the ground. They pushed forward faster with his men clearing the buildings faster before he brought them down. Uther regrouped his troops and pushed farther inside the city while praying to any god, goddess, or almighty being in existence that they were not too late to save at least most of the city.

Both he and Arthas were thinking the same thing as they moved, _“The buildings can be remade, the walls can be repaired, the crops can be replanted, but the people cannot be replaced and must survive.”_ They both continued through the districts getting increasingly agitated when they found more zombie figures.

Later on with Jaina, she was watching from the hill top and directing escorts to ensure the refugees reached the camp safely. She and the other magi were providing support from the hill by casting spells on any undead that approached. She would signal for another escort to go to the gates whenever she saw a flash of gold light which signified that Uther and/or Arthas had used their magic to check a group of people.

However, she was feeling her heart sink when a light would fade and then minutes and minutes later, no people came out. Sure they had gotten a few hundred civilians out, but over 50% of the town had been destroyed/cleared by Arthas and Uther and there should have been more than that low a number of people. She sighed sadly having to accept the fact that the grain had gotten a head start on them by at least 2 days and could have been spread and infecting most of the city.

Back with Arthas, he was currently smashing a Ghoul into the ground before beheading a zombie and launching the torso back into a group of Ghouls. He turned and blocked a sword strike from a skeleton before grabbing it and moving it in front of him where it was skewered by arrows from other skeletons. Arthas threw the skeleton into the archers before slamming his hammer on the ground again and destroyed the undead around him.

Arthas sighed as he looked around at the burning buildings and bodies from his advancement as he had cleared out 5 districts of the massive city and had been striking down undead and zombies left and right and the zombies were severely outnumbering the living. To top it all off, there was no sign of Mal’Ganis and that sent a very bad feeling down Arthas’s spine since if the demon wanted the city turned and added to the undead horde, why was he allowing Arthas and his group destroy his forces as they were.

Arthas then froze, unless his forces weren’t sent to kill them but merely delay them as the far side of the city was untouched by them yet and thus Mal’Ganis could be transporting the undead converts away from the city. Arthas gripped his hammer and started destroying the undead faster while his men moved to clear and round up areas to keep up with him.

Uther was known as a calm man, a man that could be counted on in a crisis to keep his cool and plan everything out, a man that would keep calm and calculated in the face of adversity… Yeah, that crap was out the window. He was pissed and on a rampage against the undead at the moment as they had found far more infected than there should have been and it was starting to get to him that so many innocents had to die this way in order to save them from a fate worse than death.

Half an hour later, Uther and Arthas met in the middle of the city and were advancing on the northern district, which was connected to the rest of the city by a bridge. As they approached, Mal’Ganis appeared, “Now Mal’Ganis, now we finish this.”

Arthas stated as he approached and Mal’Ganis chuckled, **“No, dear prince. If you wish to face me, then come to the frozen wastes of Northrend. It is there, that we shall settle this.”**

He stated before bursting into a swarm of bats and flying away while Arthas grit his teeth, “I WILL COME FOR YOU, MAL’GANIS! I WILL HUNT YOU TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH! DO YOU HEAR ME?!?! TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH!”

Arthas shouted as he turned and trudged back to camp with Uther and their combined forces in tow. They returned to the camp to find the townspeople both happy and sad as their city burned to the ground. Arthas approached his troops, “We have dealt a blow to our enemy this day, men. But our enemy now lies beyond the sea to the north, where he sits and mocks us while he rebuilds his forces. I intend to hunt the demon down and end it, those who wish to follow me may do so, but there may be no going back should you choose to go.”

He stated and saw his men salute him, while Jaina moved beside him and held his arm while laying her head on his shoulder, “I’m not leaving you again, Arthas.”

She stated before kissing his cheek and Uther nodded to him, “Aye lad, I am with you as well. This bastard needs to be put down before he can do more harm and your father is obviously not handling it.” He stated before he knelt to Arthas, “I pledge my metal to you, your highness.”

Uther stated before the Knights of the Silver Hand knelt as well. Arthas nodded, grateful to his mentor and friend staying by him, “I thank you, Uther. Now rise, I will not have a Paladin of your renown kneeling so easily.” He stated and Uther rose with the others, “We head for the port at first light and sail for Northrend.”

He stated and the men saluted and prepared while Arthas stepped by Uther, “Don’t wait too long to tell Minerva, I know from experience the pain of waiting to tell your love how you feel.”

He stated before walking away with Jaina still on his arm, while Uther sighed and merely nodded his head to no one.

_3 days later: Lordaeron City: Throne Room_

King Terenas sat on his throne barely containing his fury as one of his soldiers reported that his son had taken a portion of the fleet to the north with Uther, Jaina, a portion of the Kirin Tor, a majority of the Knights, and a large portion of his elite soldiers (ignoring the fact that they were all in Arthas’s brigade to begin with). But the thing that made him the angriest was not that his son had left, that he had taken that peasant girl Jaina with him, that Uther and his Knights had defied his orders, or that a section of his forces left. No, it was the fact that they had the audacity to leave without his permission. HE was king, HE was ruler, HE was the leader, and HIS word was law.

He growled and looked at his guards, “Get me my best captain available and tell him to prepare an expedition to go and get my _son_ back here and do it NOW!” He stated and then shouted as his guards left to do as ordered while wondering if maybe they could volunteer to help the Prince and get away from the madman that had become their king.

**Done, Arthas and his soldiers have left for Northrend and the King is furious. Next time we get 1-3 of the Northrend Missions depending on how much inspiration I have, so obviously a certain dwarf will be joining the fun.**

**Also, I wish to point out that KNIGHTS of the Silver Hand are with Uther, not the other paladins or officers that have soldiers of their own.**

**Arthas’ Auras: 1) Devotion Aura: Paladin ability: Grants increased Defense under the game rules, but I am making it so that the people can guard and block better.**

**2) Endurance Aura: Gained from Gloves of Haste and Boots of Speed: Grants increased attack and movement speed.**

**3) Critical Strike: Gained from Sanjaro: Increases likelihood of a fatal strike on an enemy.**

**4) Burning Aura: Gained from Orb of Fire: Makes weapons release a burst of fire on impact.**

**5) Brilliance Aura: Gained from Jaina Proudmoore: Increases Mana Regeneration.**

**6) Healing Aura: Gained from the fountain of Health: Heals allies.**

**7) Slowing Aura: Gained from Orb of Slow: Attacks slow an enemy’s movement and attack speed.**

**Arthas’ current forces: Not counting Blaze, Shadow, or himself.**

**1) Commanders: 1 Archmage, 1 Paladin, 3 Captains, and 1 Lieutenant.**

**2) 150 Footmen**

**3) 75 Riflemen**

**4) 15 Priests**

**5) 5 Mortar Teams**

**6) 50 Knights**

**7) 15 Sorceresses**

**8) 40 Archers**

**9) 25 magi**

**Please note that the counts will stop once Arthas becomes a Death Knight**

**Also, I’ll take any recommendations for Blood Cleaver and Stone Wrecker’s talent(s)**

**Anyway, that’s it. Later everyone.**


	5. Northrend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthas and his associates have arrived in Northrend, now it's time to hunt Mal'Ganis

**Hello all, welcome back to the ascension of Arthas.**

**Anyway, this will cover Northrend and end just after killing Mal’Ganis. So yes, you won’t be seeing the reactions to him taking to the Lich King’s will after he slays Mal’Ganis. You’ll have to wait till next time.**

**Apologies, but I can’t do Dwarf speech justice so I just have it as normal speech as I would rather just disregard it then have a bunch of crap speech present.**

**Now, let’s get to what y’all are all here for.**

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Warcraft, Blizzard, or a great many things that will be in this fic except for some OCs. If I owned Warcraft, then the Horde and Alliance would have stopped being idiots and worked together to destroy the global threats instead of wasting time, people, and resources fighting each other.**

(Author’s Notes)

“Speech”

_“Thoughts”_

_‘Language other than common’_

_(Mental conversations)_

**“Non-Humanoid (Demons, spirits, etc. etc.) speech”**

**_“Above’s thoughts”_ **

**_‘Above’s speech in other language’_ **

**_(Mental conversations)_ **

**Chapter 5: Northrend**

_Frozen Coast of Northrend: Weeks after chapter 4_

Arthas stood on the pale/dead ground of Northrend, after months of sea travel after commandeering a portion of the fleet, which was already reduced partially due to a large contingent of Orcs stealing quite a few, and setting sail for the frozen wastes of Northrend. While traveling; he, Uther, Jaina, Falric, Marwyn, Rane, and Minerva, who had officially gained a relationship with Uther shortly after departure and the crew had a lack of sleep due to it, had trained in their weapons and skills to stay in shape while the first three had done so to increase their skills and better associate themselves to their new weapons and gear.

Jaina became semi proficient in actual staff combat and learned some of Arthas’ paladin spells. Uther had been able to use his projection ability up to 500 feet without having the dizziness affect him. He also learned his sword was sentient in the fact that it would shred, stab, impale, or saw depending on what would be affective against the opponent and the movement that Uther initiated his attack with.

He also became adjusted to his new strength and speed by sparring with Arthas in hand to hand combat by having the ships come close enough for them to jump across. Naturally, this also motivated the troops and they took to practicing and sparring during the duration of the trip.

Back on task though, they had arrived and the crews, families, and soldiers were busy unloading the ships and getting everything ready so they could set up a settlement for the undetermined amount of time it would take for them to find and kill the demon responsible for the rampage they had witnessed. Under normal circumstances, they would be concerned that their prince was losing his mind or becoming fanatical. However, these were not normal circumstances and they were willing to follow their prince no matter the path he walked even if that meant their own damnation and destruction of their home.

Arthas looked over the frozen wastes that he was able to see and frowned as there were no suitable locations to set up camp. Arthas turned to Falric, “Falric. You, Marwyn, Minerva, and Rane stay here and get the troops and supplies ready to move inland. Uther, Jaina, and I will begin scouting to find a starting location to begin our search.”

He ordered and Falric nodded and began issuing orders while the three commanders, Blaze, Starfire, Uther’s mount Galek, Shadow, 5 priests, 3 sorceresses, and 10 riflemen began their approach into the cold dead lands of the north. Arthas had chosen to walk as he felt he was more maneuverable this way and in unknown territory it was always good to have room to maneuver.

They moved slowly while everyone watched the area closely and a few Riflemen walked backwards to ensure nothing came from behind as they had no knowledge of the beasts and dangers of these lands and couldn’t afford to be reckless. Shadow was smelling the air and growling slightly, but whether it was because the land reeked of death or he actually smelled enemies was anyone’s guess.

They moved forward for a time before a spear impacted right in front of Arthas, which was right where Blaze’s head would be if Arthas had decided to ride him, and they looked to see Ice Trolls coming at them. Arthas grit his teeth in annoyance before hurling his hammer into one group, twisted to dodged another spear, grabbed both spears, and threw them into approaching trolls.

Arthas drew Blood Cleaver and Leechbane and leapt into the enemy, while Jaina began launching spells at the trolls, more specifically fire spells, and Uther drew his blade and followed Arthas into the fray.

The Priests took their positions behind the Sorceresses while the Riflemen took a horseshoe formation around the spell casters to ensure they had the healers protected in case something attacked from the side or behind while Shadow was mauling anything that got near Arthas when his back or side was unguarded.

Arthas, seeing a chieftain and some voodoo doctors, threw Leechbane into the chieftain’s head before he threw Blood Cleaver and made it into a makeshift buzzsaw as it cut through enemies like butter before he pulled Stone Wrecker out and smashed a few Trolls aside before recalling Leechbane and feeling his powers boost. He then recalled Light’s Vengeance after throwing Leechbane into a healer and smashed more trolls aside with Light’s Vengeance and Stone Wrecker.

The Riflemen picked off the enemies that were within range and they had a clear line of sight of. The Priests were healing their comrades while dispelling negative magic effects on them as well. The Sorceresses were using magic to slow the enemy, polymorph them into weak animals, or blasting them with pure magical energy to help their allies bring the Trolls down.

However, all those present could only, partially, stare in wonder and awe as Arthas moved as if he hadn’t taken any of the injuries he had sustained at Hearthglen nor used as much energy as he did at Stratholme. The injuries he sustained should have taken nearly a year to fully recover from, magic or not, and Arthas moved as if he hadn’t taken any wounds at all. Plus, he fought like a true berserker as he cleaved through enemies while hitting with and recalling his weapons as he cut/smashed down enemies.

Within minutes, the Trolls were dead and Arthas was looking through for anything they could use. He had only just started as a few civilians, who had come with them wanting to help, came up with some wagons carrying lumber and a few supplies. Arthas was momentarily grateful for the timely arrival, “Load up any weapons they have onto the wagons.”

He ordered and the people nodded while Arthas searched the Chieftain while Jaina examined the Healers. It had only taken Arthas a moment to find a strange blue orb with a white snowflake trapped inside and it reminded him of the Orb of Fire he had gotten months ago when they were dealing with the Blackrock clan before the Orb melted into his skin and he felt different. Testing a theory, he drew Leechbane and threw it into a tree. Everyone was confused before they became shocked as fire exploded out from the knife, but the shocking part was that the area around the knife frosted over and it was rather thick.

Arthas recalled it and idly noticed a red, pale yellow, and blue orb spinning around his hand, “An Orb of Frost? Interesting.”

He stated as he gazed at the frost covered tree before sheathing Leechbane and walking forward while going through a few of the other Troll corpses finding gold, axes, hatchets, spears, and a few charms, but nothing major. However, Jaina found a rod that seemed to be a jeweled, metal, and wooden body of a bat with a humanoid skull at the top and it was perched on a medium length piece of wood.

(AN: Staff: Long piece of wood almost as tall as a person. Rod: About half the length of a staff. Wand: Small/quarter length of a staff at most).

She took it and pressed it against her Archmage Staff and it molded into it before bat like wings spiraled out of the wood at the base and just under the top. She raised her eyebrows in surprise as she turned to Arthas, “It was a summoning rod, apparently I can call forth two Skeletons every hour but they are unstable until I can use it better.” She informed and Arthas nodded before helping the workers load the items onto the carts.

After the items were packed away, they continued moving through with some footmen having caught up to them and took formation as they moved. It only took a few minutes for them to encounter some Wendigoes and Wolves. Arthas and them killed the two packs and skinned the fur off, while taking the meat, and put it on the carts before moving farther.

After a few minutes, they came to a clearing that had some building set up. Arthas held his hand up to stop everyone’s approach and moved slowly forward before he dodged to the side as bullets hit the ground he was on, “Hold your fire! We’re living!”

Arthas shouted and the gunfire stopped before an Irish/Scottish accented voice rang out, “Arthas! Is that you?!?”

The voice asked before a short man with a blond beard and mustache, silver armor, and an axe and hammer at his waist came out, “Muradin? Muradin Bronzebeard?!?”

Arthas asked and the now identified Muradin walked forward before grabbing Arthas in a hug and actually lifted him, “Lad! It’s good to see ya.”

Muradin stated as he laughed and Arthas chuckled at seeing his friend and former mentor again, “Muradin, what in the name of the Light are you doing here?”

He asked as Muradin put him down, “You mean you aren’t here to rescue us?” He asked and Arthas frowned before shaking his head, “What the bloody hell?!? We sent a dispatch back with a fully fueled Gyrocopter hoping it would at least reach Quel’Thalas and then report to everyone that we needed help here as the place is swarming with Undead.”

Arthas frowned, before he gritted his teeth as his magical power leaked out from him, “I’ll kill those bastards!”

He growled out and would have kept leaking his power if Jaina hadn’t run up and hugged him. Arthas immediately calmed slightly, but his fists were still clenched tight, “I believe my father and your brother ignored the request for aid. My father is a failure as king and recent discoveries have only reinforced that and Magni has always seen you as a threat to his rule Muradin.”

He stated getting everyone to widen their eyes in shock while Muradin sighed and rubbed his face, “That damn fool, I don’t want the damn throne. I just want him to plan for our people better.”

He stated and Arthas nodded and patted him on the shoulder, “I’m sorry Muradin, I would offer you sanctuary but I and those with me are probably labeled traitors due to me leaving without my father’s permission with a large portion of the fleet.”

Arthas stated with a sigh and Muradin widened his eyes, “What the bloody hell happened lad? Why did you come here in the first place?”

He asked as he was concerned for his friend and Arthas sighed, “The Undead you speak of invaded Lordaeron and have been causing mayhem and devastation, we found the leader to be a demon named Mal’Ganis and are seeking him out here. But Muradin, why are you here?”

Arthas asked and Muradin was shocked that the Undead got across the sea before he sighed, “We were here on an expedition to find a Runeblade named Frostmourne that is said to have great power. However, the more we pushed inland the more Undead we faced until we were eventually pushed back to here and got separated from more forward base that is under attack by the Undead based on what one of our Gyrocopters was able to tell us. We’ve been slowly picked off as the days rolled by and no matter how many we destroy more Undead still come.”

He stated and Arthas frowned, “We’ll help you get that blade as it may turn the tide against the Undead and boost our chances of slaying Mal’Ganis.” He then turned to the Footmen and Riflemen, “Secure the pass from the coast and ensure the supplies, soldiers, and everything still usable from the ships get here safely. Have the ships sail out off the coast afterwards and we will signal them to approach again with a Dwarven Flare.”

He ordered and the men saluted and moved down the pass with two Riflemen staying at the mouth of the pass. Arthas then turned towards the Priests, “Start treating their wounded, if you get tired find Jaina or myself to regain your mana faster.”

He ordered again and the Priests nodded and started healing the injuries of the Dwarves present while Arthas, Jaina, Muradin, and Uther, after Muradin gave Jaina and Uther a warm hello and congratulations, began to survey the area with Shadow following close behind with Blaze of course. Arthas looked to his two comrades and they both nodded towards him and he returned it, “Muradin, there is something I need to give you.”

Arthas stated as Blaze came up and Arthas took a bundle off and gave it to Muradin. Muradin frowned a moment before finding a note attached to it, _Greetings Muradin Bronzebeard, yes, I know your name and your exploits and I must say that even if Magni is the eldest, you would have made a fine king. You may be wondering who I am, well I am Damon Corvus and, beyond my name, anything else about me is unimportant and irrelevant. In the bundle, that Arthas has just given you, as he no doubt did as asked after seeing the results from doing so with Uther and Jaina, are items that will aid you in your travels and also aid Arthas by making you stronger. Before you ask, no, Arthas has not read this letter as it was keyed to your magical signature. More importantly, you MUST stay with Arthas. He has a destiny you cannot even begin to imagine and will need your help to deal with different matters, and enemies, that arise. I wish you the best of luck. We will meet in the future when I need to see Arthas again._

_PS: Maya loved you and not Magni; she didn’t marry him for love but to protect you. I will answer your questions when we do finally meet face to face._

Muradin read and was shocked before he raised an eyebrow at Arthas, who simply sat down and Jaina sat in his lap while Uther leaned against a nearby tree, and said prince motioned for him to read the items. Muradin did so and found two bundles and two separate wraps. Going to the first of the wraps, he found a pure white hammer with a dragon head for the pommel and a whitish blue jewel in its maws. Muradin looked at the note still attached to the wrappings and raised his eyebrows in surprise as he read, _The Avatar’s Wrath aka The Storm Hammer: Forged from a meteorite blessed by the god of storms and fused with the crystalized lightning of Lightning Elementals and the eyes of Storm Lords. This hammer is by far one of the deadliest creations to exist as it not only increases the user’s spell and physical power, but also gives the user more spell options connected to that of thunder, lightning, and storms by unlocking their latent potential and can give the user many new attacks depending on how much potential remains. It will be linked to you the moment you touch the handle, use it well. It is also balanced enough to work solo or in tandem with the next item given to you._

Muradin quickly took the next item and found a pure black battleaxe with a clawed hand holding a fiery red jewel as the pommel. He quickly looked to the note and read, _The Avatar’s Fury aka The Mountain Cleaver: Forged from another meteorite that was partially forged with demon bones and imbued with hydra blood, dragon scales, and master sharpening stones that all ensure this blade is the ultimate cutter, axe, and partner for Avatar’s Wrath. It also is bound to your signature and is balanced enough to work solo or in tandem with Avatar’s Wrath. Use them both well._

He read and his jaw was hanging loosely as he stared in shock at the notes before setting the two weapons and notes down and unwrapped the first bundle which had a set of scrolls. He grabbed the note and began reading, _These scrolls will engrave runes on your chest, this will NOT hurt, and they are permanent no matter what happens. The first will increase your time as an Avatar with each use and will allow you to retain some of your strength and power that you gain from your Avatar state. The second will increase your few attack spells and will allow your magic to be increased by your strength and physical power. The third increases your natural toughness and your chances of striking in such a way that the recoil will stun and/or disorient your opponent. The fourth will increase your spell power and control over them. The fifth will empower your body; becoming stronger, faster, more agile, smarter, becoming immune to poisons and toxins as encountered, and faster at analyzing a situation. The last one is important, will make it so any weapon wielded will be locked on to the user so it will return if thrown._

He read and looked at Arthas, who nodded, and Muradin numbly set the scrolls down before grabbing the last bundle to find multi-colored potions within and a note attached, _These potions are permanent and will not be removed no matter the number of potions outside this bundle are consumed and these will not interfere with each other. The Blue will increase magical power to that of an adept and powers grow the more magic used. The Red is a concoction that will permanently allow the body to heal minor wounds while stopping some of the more serious ones from becoming too life threatening while also making it so the more you fight, the stronger you will get. The Silver will increase movement and attack speed. The Black will increase your fighting ability and destructive spells and abilities. The White increases spell duration and effectiveness. WARNING: They taste HORRIBLE, so you may gag._

Despite his shock and awe, Muradin had to chuckle at the last part before he saw his three comrades shaking their heads rapidly with grimacing faces. Seeing the serious looks they gave, he decided to pop the corks and take as much of each vial into his mouth as possible to lessen the amount that may hit his tongue. However, some did hit and he had to resist the urge to gag and coughed a few times, “By my beard, that stuff is worse than Makon’s midnight surprise ale.”

He stated and the others chuckled before Muradin removed his cuirass and placed the runes on himself and watched as they etched into his skin as something between a scar and tattoo (which technically is just a fancy scar) before he grasped the handles of his two new weapons and could feel the power from them. Jaina gazed at them and frowned before speaking up, “Muradin, try pressing your two hammers together and then do the same with the axes.”

She stated and Muradin raised an eyebrow before shrugging and doing as suggested. The small group was surprised as the Storm Hammer absorbed the older hammer before he did the same with his axes and watched as The Mountain Cleaver absorbed the old axe. Muradin just looked at the weapons before standing and twirled them a few times to get a feel for them and found they were well balanced with the hammer being slightly more weighted, for his dominant hand, and the axe being lighter, for his submissive hand.

He attached them back to his waist and turned to Arthas who nodded and began telling Muradin about what he knew of Damon with Jaina giving input on her one encounter. Muradin frowned slightly before turning to one of his men, “OI! Dalton, c’mere.”

He called and a Rifleman came up and saluted, “Sir!”

Muradin looked at his soldier, “3 days ago, that Gargoyle attack we fought against that knocked me out, what happened?”

He asked and the Rifleman stayed quiet for a moment before responding, “Well shortly after you were knocked out, we were about to be overrun when Ghouls and Abominations came up to attack as well. Then out of nowhere, a man in black armor with crimson trimmings and designs came and started cutting down the Undead like they were nothing but ants before him. It barely took him a minute to kill them all before he checked you over and stated you’d wake up in a few hours with no issues and then left without a trace.”

He stated and the three humans raised their eyebrows in surprise while Muradin waved Dalton off and he saluted before taking his leave. Muradin turned to his friends, “It would seem this man gets around and has skills that can’t be matched easily.”

Muradin stated and the others nodded as this Damon was apparently ensuring Arthas had plenty of support for the future, but what for? Surely it wasn’t just to bring down Mal’Ganis, but if not then what? The more they learned; the more questions they gained from what little knowledge they gained.

Arthas sighed slightly as he stood, “We’ll get our answers at some point; he has stated multiple times that he will see us again. Regardless, we have to get this place ready to serve as our base camp and get it set up to serve our purposes before we can push in.”

He stated and the three nodded and rose to their feet before going about the camp helping move items and such around to their proper place.

It only took a few hours before Falric and the rest of the soldiers came up from the coast while the ships sailed off the coast to await the flare signal. Arthas then had Muradin draw him a map of the immediate area while the soldiers manned the barricades and towers that Muradin had created before venturing farther into the land when he had first arrived. The four commanders, three captains, and lieutenant looked it over.

From what Muradin’s scouts were able to gather; the base had two paths that led to it, a north and a northeast, that the latter looped around to the north before it split again. The northern one still heading for Muradin’s second base and an Undead base before looping to the other Undead base, while the second went straight to the Undead base.

Naturally, the northern was defended heavily as the Undead were pressing the assault on the base to the north. Arthas frowned as this could prove troublesome since if they tried a pincer movement on the northern area, then they risk the base camp or the eastern base attacking them while they focused on the northern base.

Sighing, he found the only answer left to them. He reached his hand out and put his finger on the map, “Falric, myself, Muradin, Marwyn, and a contingent of soldiers will be attacking the base to the north. You all will keep this place secured and prepare to push inward when we’ve freed the northern base.”

He stated and Jaina frowned at him and he held his hand up, “I know my love, but you have wide area spells and nothing direct besides the few Paladin spells you learned on the way here but you don’t have them mastered to use them effectively. Besides, Muradin needs to test out his new equipment.”

He stated and Jaina pouted but nodded before kissing his cheek and resting her head on his shoulder, “Be careful Arthas, I can’t lose you.”

She stated and Arthas softened his eyes towards her and kissed her head before standing and began preparing to move out. Marwyn, Muradin, Falric, Rane, and 30 Footmen, 15 Riflemen, 10 Sorceresses, 15 Archers, and 10 Priests began getting ready while a few Dwarven Battleragers, the Dwarves that dumped their mortars at Hearthglen, joined too.

Arthas and his group began moving forward while Blaze stayed behind, not wanting to get in his master’s way, and Shadow walked beside Arthas. It only took a few minutes to reach the outskirts of the northern base and they could hear explosions going off in the distance and new the attacks weren’t letting up any time soon.

Arthas drew his hammer and it started glowing gold, while inwardly he was pleased that he could do this even faster now, and threw it as hard as he could. It smashed through buildings releasing bursts of holy energy every time it struck something and, naturally, it caused some attention to go towards them and Arthas merely grinned at the prospect of combat. Ever since Hearthglen, he had been feeling the urge to fight and crush those who stood against him while protecting anyone that showed him loyalty. He didn’t understand it, but he wasn’t complaining.

He took Blood Cleaver which seemed to be radiating bloodlust and Stone Wrecker before moving forward at impressive speeds and started cutting and smashing Ghouls, Crypt Fiends, and Abominations like they were mere children against elite soldiers.

Muradin watched his former student go and was impressed to say the least. He suspected that a large portion of his increase was due to the items he gained, but he also knew Arthas could have grown considerably since he last trained the lad.

He idly noticed Shadow leaping at Necromancers and tearing out their jugulars, Falric rushing in and slamming his shield into enemies while stabbing others, Marwyn looked as if he was dancing through the lines as his blades flashed and he cut one enemy before he shifted gracefully and cut another, and the other soldiers marching forward with the Footmen locking their shields and forming two lines as they began marching forward pushing the Ghouls back before the next line stabbed them and took the front before repeating the process. While that happened the Battleragers were attacking anything that came from the sides, the sorceresses aided where they were needed, the Priests healed allies and dispelled summoned units, and the Riflemen and Archers hit any long range enemies or flying ones.

Muradin frowned slightly, wondering why he was still standing there and not helping, before he drew his new hammer and axe and charged into the battle with a loud war cry before he too began cutting down and smashing any enemies he came near.

Remembering the notes about his hammer he used one of his techniques and channeled his mana into the hammer before slamming it on the ground. He was pleasantly surprised to see a large electric shockwave blast out and either kill, stun, or knock down the Undead. He brought his hammer back up and launched a Storm Bolt at a Necropolis that was nearby and it smashed into it hard and caused it to destabilize and crash onto more of the Undead structures.

He idly noticed Arthas launching his sword out and it cut through enemies like butter before he recalled his hammer and launched it out again once it was charged. The magic blasted out and eradicated the Undead caught and the cursed ground cleared while the structures began crumbling and actually crushing any Undead that came up from where the magic didn’t hit.

Muradin was impressed with his former student as he fought like a berserker in a controlled state and was striking down more of the Undead than Muradin’s entire force had in their time being in Northrend and the man didn’t even seemed winded and was still going strong.

Arthas for his part was feeling excitement and joy at fighting against his enemy, and winning just made it even better. He spun and cut down enemies before throwing his sword and knife out to recall his hammer and use it and his mace to smash enemies out of his way or crushing them into paste. He was just glad he wasn’t getting tunnel vision or he may have had to worry about his allies getting in the way of one of his attacks.

It only took another five minutes before the Dwarven base began to attack as well. Their few Siege Tanks, Gyrocopters, Riflemen, and Mortar Teams began firing on the Undead and joining the battle. They aimed for the buildings they heard cultists call Ziggurats and brought the crystals, which launched attacks on the enemy, that hung above them crashing down onto the buildings while also destroying the pillars that held the Necropoli in the air. They also aimed at the graveyards as they had to burn the bodies or at least make them unusable.

Within 8 minutes, the Undead base was in ruins and Muradin was taking stock of what his men still had and what could be salvaged. He wasn’t extremely happy, but it was better than he thought; 5 of the 20 Siege Tanks, 8 of the 30 Gyrocopters, 20 of the 80 Riflemen, and 9 of the 25 Mortar Teams. While it wasn’t ideal, it was still better than what he feared the count could be and with Arthas’ forces plus what Muradin had the main base, they may be able to break through the Undead and crush them.

Arthas recalled his weapons and put them away before turning to Marwyn, “Marwyn, go and have Uther and Jaina bring their contingent up through the other pass and await a signal before they charge their forces in.”

Arthas ordered and Marwyn saluted before taking off towards the base camp and Arthas had the Priests begin healing the injured Dwarves while helping out with his holy magic before he led them forward to the intersection. Within a few minutes they were there and readied themselves for if the Undead came up before the rest of their forces were ready.

About 5 minutes later, Arthas sensed Jaina nearby which meant the rest of their forces were assembled and Arthas took his hammer in hand, “Muradin, myself, and Falric will go in first when you see something worth noticing then charge in and kill anything you know isn’t friendly.”

He ordered and the soldiers nodded, while the new Dwarves were skeptical. Arthas walked forward with Falric and Muradin close behind him. They could see the death of the land ahead and Arthas smiled as he took Stone Wrecker in his other hand before charging forward with his hammer glowing gold. As he approached the Undead, he leapt high into the air and threw his hammer into their defensive line creating a bright flash of golden light that wiped out the Undead defense line. As Arthas landed, Muradin rushed up with a powerful Stormbolt that he combined with his Thunderclap that upon hitting the ground blasted the enemy apart with the crash of a thunderstorm.

Naturally, both those items got everyone’s attention and the two forces began converging on the Undead base. In the few minutes they needed to get there, Arthas, Falric, and Muradin were in the heart of the base destroying the Undead as Arthas was swapping from throwing his hammer to using and throwing Blood Cleaver to stabbing and throwing Leechbane to going back to his hammer and using Stone Wrecker along with it.

Naturally, the Knights rode down their enemies; Riflemen and Archers attacked any airborne enemies; Mortar teams and Siege tanks destroyed buildings; Gyrocopters covered anyone looking to be in trouble; and the Footmen charged and attacked anything not living. Uther and Jaina were blasting enemies back with their own magics while Uther also crushed and bisected any enemy that got in his way while Jaina was calling up two Skeletons to fight when able and they were easily identifiable as they didn’t have a putrid green aura on them.

Arthas was striking down the Undead with ruthless efficiency while ensuring he didn’t hit one of his soldiers while letting his lust for battle just flow out and let him go into a killing frenzy. He spun and decapitated Undead before twisting and smashing some enemies into paste and then spun and threw Light’s Vengeance into a cluster of Undead and kept moving forward to cut down more and more of them.

Within five minutes, the base was in ruins and the soldiers began burning the bodies while a few went back to have the others move up and begin to push in farther. Arthas recalled his weapons and sheathed them as he took a minute to catch his breath while Jaina came up and kissed his cheek, “You alright Arthas?”

She asked with some concern and Arthas smiled before giving her a kiss, “Yes my love, I’m alright.” He stated as she wrapped her arms around him and he turned to the others, “When the others arrive, we’ll make this place our new basecamp as we have ease of access to the coast and limited ways that we can be attacked.”

He ordered and the others nodded as workers came and began building up defenses and positions in preparance for the threat of these lands. Arthas and Jaina walked off for a bit, with Muradin and Uther covering for them, before Arthas pinned her to a tree and took her into a kiss as she moaned and he began groping her ass. Jaina moaned louder before Arthas moved to her neck and began undoing her robes while she undid his armor, “Arthas, please take me. I want you so badly and I don’t want to wait anymore.”

Jaina begged and Arthas smiled, “As you wish my love.”

*******Lemon Start*******

He stated before removing the top of her robes and began to knead her breasts while taking her back into a kiss. As she moaned into his mouth, he moved his thumb over her nipples feeling them stiffen quickly as he began kissing down her neck before reaching her breasts and started licking and sucking her nipples causing her to moan louder, “Ahh, yes Arthas suck on my nipples. Please give it to me.”

She moaned and Arthas smirked inwardly before releasing one of her breasts with his right hand and trailed it down her stomach and pulled her robes the rest of the way off and began fingering her pussy causing her to nearly scream. Arthas removed his mouth from her nipple before moving to her ear, “Let out your voice Jaina, we’re far enough away and I want to hear you as I pleasure your body.”

He whispered before taking her back into a kiss as he played with her nipples, pussy, and clit and Jaina listened to her lover and let her voice out as he played with her body before she screamed into the kiss as she came hard. Arthas stepped back and licked his hand clean, getting Jaina wetter at the sight, before he got out of the rest of his armor and held his cock, which was at least 8 inches, at the ready, “I want you to suck me, Jaina.”

He stated and Jaina nodded with a blush before she squatted down and began rubbing his cock gently and lovingly. She then got close and licked it slowly and sensually as she began covering his entire cock and balls in her spit before she began kissing and sucking on his balls while stroking his cock and her other hand went to her pussy and began fingering herself. Arthas groaned at the feeling and sight before he had to grit his teeth as Jaina took him into her mouth and began swirling her tongue around his cock while taking more than half of his cock into her mouth, “Ah, that’s it Jaina.”

Arthas groaned out and Jaina began bobbing her head faster while her hand was working furiously as it was turning her on to service Arthas this way and she was looking forward to having him inside her pussy and claiming it as his own. That thought alone nearly pushed her into orgasm but she was so focused on Arthas’ pleasure that she was kinda on auto pilot, but she did cum and scream around his cock when he grabbed her head and began fucking her face.

Jaina moaned and groaned around his cock while her right hand began rapidly fingering her pussy, with one finger going to her ass as well, and her left hand started playing with her breasts, _“God. I want Arthas to ravage me, treat me like his private concubine in private and still be a loving couple in public. I could be his private whore and help him with getting the other girls I KNOW are in love and desire him and they could be my sisters in both bed and out. We could make Tiffin our loyal pet like she told me she fantasized about. Ooohhh. The thought of Arthas fucking me and Sylvanas together and treating us like his private sluts the way she and I had talked about is enough to make me soaked. He would fuck me up the ass before having Sylvanas clean him while I lick her pussy and then he could fuck her slutty Elven pussy while she and I make out and I play with her large breasts. Oh that is it! We have got to find her after this mess is over and get her to join us.”_

She thought to herself as she began bobbing her head in time with Arthas’ thrusts before Arthas began breathing harder, “Jaina, I’m almost there. Swallow it all.”

He stated and Jaina nodded as she kept sucking him and fingering herself. A few moments later, Arthas grunted as he came down her throat and Jaina eagerly began drinking/swallowing it before pulling back far enough for him to cum more in her mouth as she eagerly drank his cum down.

When he was done, Arthas braced against the tree while Jaina pulled her mouth off and licked Arthas clean before putting her breasts around his cock and began servicing him as Arthas leaned his head back and groaned as Jaina licked the head while her breasts wrapped around his cock. Arthas couldn’t take it anymore and lifted Jaina before putting her against the tree with her ass sticking out and Jaina eagerly spread herself for him, “Fuck me Arthas, make me your woman and never let any other man touch me. I’ll be happy to fuck whenever you want and will always be ready for you.”

She stated and Arthas smirked before he lined himself up and leaned into her ear, “This may hurt my love.” He stated before he pushed his entire length into Jaina and she screamed out as her pussy made a puddle under her.

Arthas waited for her ok by playing with her breasts and kissing her neck before she nodded and he began thrusting in and out causing Jaina to moan out. Arthas began picking up the pace before he grabbed her hair and right breast to get better leverage and really began to fuck her, “Ah! Yes Arthas, fuck me. Turn me into your private whore and slut that is for your use only. I’ll be ready to service you any time you want, don’t even ask just start using me. I love you using me like this and I want it all the time, become my lord and master and use me as you please. I’ll even help you bring the other girls into our fun if you want. So long as you fuck me and treat me with love in public, then I don’t care.”

She nearly screamed and Arthas brought her into a deep passionate kiss, “I will do just that Jaina, you will be my queen and wife in public but my whore in private and we’ll find the other girls and bring them into our fun. But don’t worry, I will fuck you every chance I get and you will give me heirs in the future.”

He stated and Jaina screamed as her lover/lord’s words pushed her over the edge and she came hard. Arthas, however, didn’t slow down and Jaina merely moaned as her love fucked her relentlessly, “Ah! Arthas! I love you, I love you so much. You are so perfect, please don’t ever stop fucking me.”

Jaina moaned and begged and Arthas kissed her again while exploring her mouth with his tongue, “Never Jaina, I will never stop nor leave you. Get ready though, I’m about to cum.”

He stated and Jaina moaned, “Yes Arthas, cum in me. Fill my womb and possibly make me pregnant. I want it so badly, please!”

She begged and Arthas obliged her by bottoming out and cumming inside her as both moaned loudly.

*******Lemon End*******

Arthas turned and sat with Jaina on his lap as they both began to catch their breath, “That was wonderful, my lord.”

Jaina stated while snuggling close to him and Arthas began stroking her hair lovingly, “Indeed it was my love. You were so sexy being submissive and saying those things during it.”

He stated and Jaina looked to him, “I wasn’t joking Arthas. I really want you to treat me that way in private and to just use me whenever and however you want.”

She stated and Arthas raised an eyebrow before kissing her, “As you wish, my beautiful slut.”

He stated before feeling something wet begin to hit his leg and Jaina blushed, “Don’t start now or I won’t be able to control myself.”

She moaned and Arthas smirked before going to her ear, “Who says I want you to control yourself?”

He stated before he took her in a kiss again and they had another bout of fun.

_Next morning: Arthas’ new basecamp_

Arthas, Jaina, Minerva, Uther, and Muradin were out scouting while Falric and Marwyn were holding down the fort, so to speak, when a Zeppelin flew over the camp, escorted by some Gryphon riders, and landed. A contingent of soldiers came out along with a small band of priests, sorceresses, and knights with a man in fine robes and a staff in hand walking with them. Falric moved and stood before the man, “Greetings Emissary, I am afraid you have missed the Prince as he is scouting at the moment, but he should be back shortly.”

Falric stated and the Emissary seemed unamused, “I am merely here to tell you the king has ordered you to return to the capital at once.”

He stated and Falric raised an eyebrow, “We are just to pick up and leave? I am sorry Emissary, but we are not leaving until Prince Arthas gives the order to.”

Falric stated and the Emissary paused, “You dare to disobey the King?”

He asked with some anger and Falric narrowed his eyes, “Any King who lies to his soldiers, doesn’t provide adequate protection for his people, and doesn’t send reinforcements to help destroy the source of the problem is no king of mine.”

Falric stated and the Emissary frowned, “Fine, it is your head that will be severed if you do return home.”

He stated before boarding the Zeppelin while the Knights boarded also, but the soldiers, Gryphon Riders, Priests, and Sorceresses stayed behind and moved to Falric, “The King is beginning to unravel, we wish to serve the Prince.”

The leader of them stated and Falric nodded before one of the Sorceresses spoke up, “Pardon my lord, but from the air I was able to see the Undead were heading towards the ships you came on and they also control the routes to the coast.”

She stated and Falric widened his eyes, “Dammit. Alright I want adequate defenses around the base and every other able bodied person cutting through the woods to get to the ships before the Undead can sink them.” He ordered and the people began working.

_An hour later_

Arthas and his commanders came back and were confused about what was going on, “Falric, where did these soldiers come from and why are there so many people cutting through the woods?”

Arthas asked and Falric came up, “Pardon milord, while you were gone, an Emissary came and informed us that your father ordered the troops to return and we refused unless you ordered us to. He left, but a large portion of soldiers remained and one informed us that the routes to the ships are blocked off and the Undead are advancing on the ships as we speak. I ordered the people to begin cutting their way through the woods to make a shortcut to the ships.”

Arthas grit his teeth, “Dammit. Falric, you keep the base running; Uther, Jaina, Muradin, and I will cut around and try to save the ships.”

He ordered and Falric saluted as Arthas and his group went up a small cliff to a path that they believed looped around to the coast, but was covered by Undead and strange spider creatures, and Arthas had Shadow stay behind as he couldn’t make it up the cliff. Pushing forward quickly, after some Mortar Teams came to join up in case of problems, they encountered a pack of Ghouls which Arthas quickly dealt with before coming upon another tower structure along with a pack of Ghouls, Crypt Fiends, and a few Necromancers. Arthas directed the Mortar Teams to fire on the Tower while he and Uther charged in and cut down the Undead, “I think there are some Mercenary Camps along this route that could potentially reinforce us for getting through the defenses.”

Muradin commented as they moved and Arthas nodded, “That’s good. We should keep an eye out for them.”

He stated as they moved forward before they smashed through more Undead and came upon a small camp that had 5 Ice Trolls and 3 Ogres, **“What you want Human?”**

One of the Ogres asked and Arthas approached, “I need aid in cutting through the Undead to stop them from burning our ships and stranding us here. I came here to kill the source of the Plague, a demon named Mal’Ganis.”

Arthas stated and the mercenaries perked up, **“We’s help you, for a price.”**

The Ogre stated and Arthas nodded, “Payment on delivery.” He stated and they nodded and grabbed their gear before falling into line with them and hurried forward before finding a split path and Arthas frowned, “You all take the southern path and I’ll take this side path.”

He ordered and the group pushed forward while Arthas went down the side path and encountered Skeletal Archers and a Marksman. Arthas dodged the arrows before throwing Leechbane into the Marksman and then slammed his hammer into the others.

As he was about to turn and leave, he saw something a glitter of something catch his eyes and he moved some of the remains to find a green gem and became interested after it sunk into his skin and he knew what it did. It was a Gem of True Seeing: A gem that allowed the user to see enemies that could either turn invisible or are camouflaged.

He smirked as it was another piece to helping him get his vengeance, but he saw another tem under a nearby grave stone and found a strange Telescope, which also sunk in to his hand revealing it was a Goblin Night Scope which increased his eyesight at night. He smirked wider before he heard war cries a short ways away and moved to the cliff to see his group fighting against a band of Undead. Frowning he took his hammer and channeled magic to it before leaping off the cliff and slammed the hammer into the ground blasting the Undead to pieces and healing his soldiers. However, their enjoyment was short lived as they saw the ship sinking in flames and Arthas grit his teeth, “Let’s move, they’re ahead of us and we have to catch up.”

He ordered and they nodded as they moved in before encountering Crypt Fiends, but these ones were living and were called Nerubians. Arthas frowned as he saw a large one preparing to launch a spell at the ship that was moored there and he leapt into the enemy smashing them aside as his forces moved in and the Mortar Teams fired on the crypts the Nerubians were coming out of. Sadly Arthas was too slow and the Nerubian hit the ship with a large fire blast and he expressed his displeasure of that by bisecting the Nerubian vertically and watched as it froze and burst into flames. Arthas sighed even as Jaina found something in the rubble of one of the crypts and found a staff that she combined with her current one to find she could now teleport a single unit to herself or to someone she knew the location of.

She moved forward and kissed Arthas’ cheek before he waved his forces forward as he hoped to save the rest of the ships. They then came upon the next mercenary camp where more Ice Trolls and some Ogre Magi were and they joined the group as they pushed in before they then decimated a pocket of Murlocs and continued forward.

However, they found the path blocked by trees and a wall of ice and Arthas nearly cursed before he ordered the Mortar Teams to blast the blockage apart before he had to attack a Revenant that was launching a Blizzard spell at them. Arthas smashed a tree sending splinters at the Revenant before blasting it with Holy Light and then smashing his hammer into it.

The Revenant burst apart and Arthas found a shield in the remains. It was pitch black with ghostly blue runes engraved on it and burning skull at the middle. Arthas felt power from it and raised an eyebrow before he picked it up attached it to his left arm as that was the one he had his scars from Hearthglen on. Right after he did, a Ghoul came at him and he blocked it but was surprised when hellish green flames came off the shield and burned the Ghoul to a crisp.

More information then entered his mind and informed him this was the Shield of the Deathlord and gave him the power of Immolation and there was a helm that matched it. Letting it go for the moment, Arthas trudged back down just in time for him and his soldiers to witness a Meat Wagon launch a Goblin Sapper at the ship and destroy it before Arthas then smashed the Meat Wagon.

Arthas gripped his hammer tightly and pushed on with his group before gaining more Trolls and Ogres to their little group and encountered some blue drakes and whelps that they demolished before pushing in farther. They arrived at a pass that Uther used his projection to look down and found an ambush area of Undead Ziggurats ready to fire down on any trespassers and found a Goblin Merchant nearby, which Arthas looked over quickly while Muradin went through a small pass after a Pandaren came at him and then ran off.

Muradin came back with an amulet that boosted his mana reserves and Arthas tossed him a Periapt that increased your stamina and vitality while he also gave Jaina an Amulet and a Brooch that he thought would come in handy later on before they pushed in and Arthas dodged the attacks from the Towers while he and Uther blasted them with magically charged hammers and the Mortar Teams blasted them to pieces.

After running the gauntlet, Arthas cursed as some Gargoyles began blasting the ship and ignited the powder they used for the cannons destroying the entire ship. Arthas blasted them with a mass Holy Light spell and moved on before encountering Skeletal warriors and necromancers using a few graveyards to make even more Skeletal warriors and Arthas killed them first before destroying the graveyards as his troops dealt with the Skeletons.

One final push in showed them a group of Undead blocking them while Meat Wagons were moving to position to attack the last ship. Cursing, Arthas rushed into the fray and started smashing and bisecting any enemies got close to while his mercenaries pushed in to destroy the Undead and the commanders moved to catch up to him.

However, it was all for naught. Just as Arthas caught up to the Meat Wagons, they all fired on the last ship and it sunk beneath the waves. Arthas smashed the Meat Wagons in a rage before he sighed tiredly and trudged through the shallow waters to the other side of the woods just as Falric and the others cut through, “My Prince, what happened? Was it those beasts who did this to our ships?”

Falric asked while looking to the Trolls and Ogres and Arthas shook his head, “No Falric, they aided us against the Undead and we were too late to stop them from destroying the ships. We are stranded here for the foreseeable future and our only hope is to achieve victory and then hope we can find enough useable lumber to make new ships or find some we can take from here.”

Arthas stated with a sigh before he looked to the mercenaries and walked back to camp, “Pay them what they are owed. They fought bravely and deserve to have the money they were promised.”

He stated surprising those around him as he went to his tent and laid down before feeling a weight and saw Jaina laying on him and he smiled before wrapping his arms around her, “Time for more fun, my beautiful slut.” Arthas stated before he flipped them over and began having fun with Jaina.

_Next day: Arthas’ basecamp_

Arthas and his commanders were gathered around the fire and discussing the next fight while also being thankful for the mercenaries staying around to help them. However they were interrupted by Mal’Ganis and a large contingent of Undead approaching, **“The Dark Lord said you would come! This is where your journey ends… boy. Trapped and freezing at the roof of the world, with only death to sing your tale of doom.”**

Mal’Ganis stated and Muradin cursed, “We can’t hold them back for long. They have us completely surrounded.”

Muradin stated and Arthas gripped his hands tight, “Then let us get Frostmourne, if its powers are even half of what you said, then we can win.”

He stated and they nodded before the four of them headed for a Waygate while Falric organized the defenses and Shadow remained as he could smell the Undead and thus warn them when an attack was coming. Arthas and them went through it to appear in a narrow pass and moved forward before two Giant Frost Wolves and a Dire Frost Wolf came at them and Arthas, not being in the mood for this crap, simply took Blood Cleaver and bisected them while walking forward like nothing happened.

Another wolf then came and attacked, but Arthas dodged and the wolf took off the path forward and Arthas followed it before more wolves came and attacked and Arthas simply moved through cutting through them.

When he was done, he found that he was in front of a Fountain of Mana and felt his aura of Mana regeneration increase. Arthas drank a bit of the water before waiting for the others to catch up. Which they did while looking over the bodies that Arthas created with little to no trouble before they went forward and found a group of Frost Wolves and Wendigoes that rushed them and Arthas cut a few down while Uther and Muradin finished off the others.

Pushing forward, they soon came upon a cemetery before they dodged a group of arrows from some Skeletal Archers and Marksmen before Arthas blasted a Ghost with Holy Light and threw Leechbane into a Wraith while the others destroyed the Skeletons with magic or attacks.

Pushing in farther, the group of four came upon two Skeletal Marksmen, two Revenants, and a large Revenant that they assumed was the main protector, **“Turn back, mortals. Death and darkness are all that await you in this forsaken vault.”**

The protector stated and Arthas frowned, “Regardless of what there may be in there, there is nothing that will stop me from ending Mal’Ganis.”

He stated and the protector simply remained there, **“Believe what you will, boy. You will not pass.”**

It stated before raising its shield to block the hammer strike from Arthas and screamed as the flames burst out and hit it while Muradin leapt at the Marksmen and Uther and Jaina attacked the Revenants. Jaina blasted one of the Revenants with a holy spell before she launched a fireball at it and set it aflame. Uther took his sword cut through the helm of the Revenant. Muradin used Storm Bolt on one Skeleton before spinning and smashing his hammer into the other Skeleton.

Arthas dodged the attack of the protector before he smashed it with his hammer burning it further before his shield then lashed out and burned it causing it to scream in pain before he drew Blood Cleaver and shoved it through the protector’s chest, **“Fool, turn back… before it’s… too late.”**

Arthas narrowed his eyes, “Still want to keep the blade safe, do you?”

He asked and the protector groaned, **“No… trying to keep you safe… from it.”**

It stated before it collapsed into a pile of armor. Arthas’ shield began to pulse and he turned to the helm and lifted it before placing it on his head and felt information enter him as he learned this was the Helm of the Deathlord and it gave him the ability to launch a bolt of pain at an enemy.

Jaina approached her Revenant and found a necklace amongst the remains that was glowing and warm to the touch and she placed it on before she learned her mana pool was increased, her attacks were stronger and were ranged, and they exploded out now due to this being the Necklace of Burning Souls. She then found an Axe in the remains and picked it up before giving it to Muradin who combined it with his Mountain Cleaver and learned his Axe would now steal life force from enemies and rejuvenate/revitalize/heal him.

Uther found a sword with a ghostly blue glow in the remains of his Revenant and pushed it into his Champion’s Light and felt it now give off a cold/freezing aura and learned the other blade was called Frostguard and it both froze and slowed enemies before he placed it on his back while seeing Arthas placed Blood Cleaver on his waist and Leechbane on the other side before stepping into a tunnel and Uther, Jaina, and Muradin followed him.

Within a few minutes, they entered a large open area with a pedestal in the center with a blade stuck in a block of ice and pulsing with power, “At last, Frostmourne.”

Arthas stated as they moved forward before Muradin stopped them as he saw an inscription, “Wait, let’s see here, ‘He who wields this blade shall have power eternal. Just as the blade rends flesh, so too does it wound the soul.’ Dammit, the blade is cursed!”

Muradin stated and Arthas approached it, “It doesn’t matter, if we don’t take the blade then we are all dead. At least this way, I am the only one cursed and a curse can always be broken or lifted.”

He stated before he raised his palm to the blade, _(Take the Blade)._ He heard and he paused looking around, _(The blade will slay Mal’Ganis and send you on the journey to your destiny)._

He heard and knew it was Damon and returned his attention to the blade, “Hear me spirits of this place, I will pay whatever you wish for me to pay if I can strike down the Dreadlord Mal’Ganis.”

He stated and the ice encasing the blade rumbled before blasting out and Arthas’ shield lashed out and melted shards that flew near him, which coincidently saved his allies from having to dodge them and kept his allies safe. The blade landed right in front of him and he grasped it in hand before pulling it out of the ground and his power released before condensing around him and the skull and runes on the blade began to glow, “Back to camp.”

Arthas ordered and Jaina nodded before teleporting them back to the base camp where they found many of their forces drained and wounded with a new wave of Undead advancing. Arthas took his hammer and channeled holy magic before slamming it onto the ground and the magic rejuvenated his soldiers and he approached the Undead.

Frostmourne glowed before Arthas leapt at them screaming like a berserker before he began cutting down the wave of Undead without any support and was blasting others away with holy magic. In less than 3 minutes, Arthas had decimated the forces to a pile of corpses. Arthas sheathed Frostmourne on his back and turned to his soldiers, “Falric, take the men and go north and destroy a small Undead location there. Myself, Jaina, Uther, and Muradin will go to the East and decimate the base there before meeting you at the northern location where I will end Mal’Ganis once and for all.”

Arthas ordered and walked to the East with the other three following him quickly along with Shadow while Falric gathered up the Mercenaries and most of the soldiers while ensuring a decent sized contingent were remaining to protect the base and the people there.

Arthas moved with a purpose as he drew Frostmourne when Ziggurats came into view before he swung the blade and a blast of energy cut through one before he took his hammer and empowered it. When he got closer to the second, he hurled the hammer into it causing an explosion as the holy and necromantic magics collided and Arthas recalled his hammer as he began cutting down and smashing aside Undead while his commanders were unleashing their own fury on the Ziggurats and Undead and Shadow was clawing apart enemies while biting any Necromancers it could get near.

Jaina was blasting spells and pure magical power at the Ziggurat hearts causing them to become unstable and implode while several Undead lay dead with Ice spears skewering them. Uther was taking a page from Arthas’ book and was duel wielding his blade and hammer and was destroying the Undead with his expertise and holy magic. Muradin went into his Avatar state and leapt into the battle and smashed and/or cleaved through the Undead with his Thunderclap being strong enough to bring down buildings he was near.

Once that base was in ruins, they moved North and began their attack on the Undead while Arthas’ forces arrived and began charging in and cutting apart the Undead with the commanders being the front runners with their powers and skills breaking the Undead and the buildings began to collapse, the corpses began to pile, and they all began to feel the bloodlust and hunger for death and destruction as they cut down more and more Undead.

When the base was destroyed, Arthas looked over the area before feeling Frostmourne pulse towards a path up a mountain, “All of you, return to camp. I have a demon to kill.”

He ordered before walking off and followed the path to a graveyard where Mal’Ganis stood there, **“You’ve taken the blade. Interesting, the Dark Lord said you would and would be a force to reckon with.”**

Mal’Ganis stated and Arthas stood before him, “You waste your breath demon, I hear the voice of Frostmourne now.”

Arthas stated and Mal’Ganis chuckled, **“You hear the voice of the Dark Lord. He whispers to you through the blade you hold… What does he say, mortal? What does the Dark Lord of the Dead tell you?”**

He stated with some humor and Arthas grinned viciously, “He tells me, that the time for my vengeance has come.”

Arthas stated and Mal’Ganis was shocked and unable to do anything as Arthas shoved Frostmourne through his chest, **“No, he can’t possibly mean to…”**

Mal’Ganis didn’t finish as Arthas drove Leechbane through his skull, “Now your soul and your power are mine.”

Arthas stated while still grinning darkly at him even as Mal’Ganis screamed in pain and rage and Arthas felt his power filling him and laughed maniacally before he withdrew both blades from the shriveled husk of the Dreadlord and Frostmourne glowed before dark power crept up the blade and consumed him before the power died down to show the new Arthas.

He stood in dark plate armor with skulls adorning it, his hair was white/silver, his eyes were a ghostly blue, and his skin was somewhat pale. His weapons changed to: His hammer became ebony handled and the head was obsidian black, Leechbane had black runes engraved over it and were glowing, Blood Cleaver was given putrid purple runes, and Stone Wrecker gained putrid green runes, while the Shield and Helm remained as were, **“Now, I have power. Now, I have purpose and I will burn this world and rebuild it anew. Make way, for Death itself now walks the world.”**

**Done! Here is the Northrend campaign and I hoped you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it, not counting the aggravation caused by writer’s block, and I hope you enjoyed the Lemon. Yeah, Jaina is a perv, and the girls Arthas will have will have fetishes, but who cares it makes it more fun for Arthas.**

**Anyway, next time will be reactions, Arthas’ return, and some of the Undead campaign.**

**Arthas’ Auras: 1) Devotion Aura: Paladin ability: Grants increased Defense under the game rules, but I am making it so that the people can guard and block better.**

**2) Endurance Aura: Gained from Gloves of Haste and Boots of Speed: Grants increased attack and movement speed.**

**3) Critical Strike: Gained from Sanjaro: Increases likelihood of a fatal strike on an enemy.**

**4) Burning Aura: Gained from Orb of Fire: Makes weapons release a burst of fire on impact.**

**5) Brilliance Aura: Gained from Jaina Proudmoore: Increases Mana Regeneration.**

**6) Healing Aura: Gained from the fountain of Health: Heals allies.**

**7) Slowing Aura: Gained from Orb of Slow: Attacks slow an enemy’s movement and attack speed.**

**8) Frosting Aura: Gained from Orb of Frost: Attacks frost over enemy, slowing and harming them as time moves forward.**

**9) Reveal Hidden: Gained from Gem of True Seeing: Allow Arthas to see invisible enemies and reveal them to those that are nearby.**

**10) Mana Regeneration: Gained from the Fountain of Mana: Increases the amount of Mana regenerated from Brilliance Aura.**

**Immolation isn’t on here because it only affects Arthas and is not being generated out to affect his soldiers.**

**I also would appreciate any talents/abilities for Stone Wrecker and Blood Cleaver.**

**LAST ITEM: I will take any OCs you have that you want to see paired with Arthas. But I need a decent amount of information and I may use specific ones over others if Arthas’ pairings start getting high. If you don’t want them paired with Arthas, send them anyway and say if you want them paired with someone.**

**For the OCs, this is what I want: 1) Their looks (body and figure as well as the sexually attractive qualities if they are female) and race**

**2) Their class**

**3) Their profession(s) keep it to two like in WoW**

**4) Their weapons and armor: Detailed as possible please**

**5) Any special abilities**

**6) Name**

**7)** **Personality: both with friendlies, strangers, enemies, and those they are close to.**

**Give me all of that and I can use your OC, but depending on if I get a flood of them and some are more… fitting with Arthas then yours may not be with Arthas, but give me a backup person to pair them with if they don’t go to Arthas. If they aren’t meant to be paired with Arthas, then I will try to use them and if I don’t then I will mark them down and use them in one of the other Warcraft fics I have for the future.**

**Well, that should be it. Later everyone.**


	6. Damnation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthas has taken his vengeance... but now what will he do?

**Hello all, welcome back to Lich King’s Ascension.**

**Anyway, this will finish of Northrend, for now, and move into the Undead Campaign of Reign of Chaos with some items changed, naturally. The biggest changes to the story/history of Azeroth will be coming up in this campaign, which will be extended due to covering Arthas going to Kalimdor and doing more than he did in the game.**

**Oh, there is a surprise for y’all that I’m sure a lot of you will not see coming.**

**Lastly, someone asked why I gave Arthas Leechbane, well the reason I gave it to him was to simulate the process of ‘Leveling up’ in Warcraft and, while the others all got the runes to help them grow, Arthas is gonna be the key fighter taking on the toughest enemies and walking away, even if it will be with a noticeable limp at times, so he needed more than the others.**

**NOTE: I tend not to describe people that can be looked up unless I change their appearance or if it’s an OC and they will not be hanging around for a while, which is basically anyone of a class that is gonna get in Arthas’ way but is not part of canon or any official item of Warcraft Lore.**

**Now, let’s get to what y’all are all here for.**

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Warcraft, Blizzard, or a great many things that will be in this fic except for some OCs. If I owned Warcraft, then Arthas would have been right there giving Archimonde the finger as he helped the mortal races on Hyjal.**

(Author’s Notes)

“Speech”

_“Thoughts”_

_‘Language other than common’_

_(Mental conversations)_

**“Non-Humanoid (Demons, spirits, etc. etc.) speech”**

**_“Above’s thoughts”_ **

**_‘Above’s speech in other language’_ **

**_(Mental conversations)_ **

**Chapter 6: Damnation**

_Last time_

_When the base was destroyed, Arthas looked over the area before feeling Frostmourne pulse towards a path up a mountain, “All of you, return to camp. I have a demon to kill.”_

_He ordered before walking off and followed the path to a graveyard where Mal’Ganis stood there, **“You’ve taken the blade. Interesting, the Dark Lord said you would and would be a force to reckon with.”**_

_Mal’Ganis stated and Arthas stood before him, “You waste your breath demon, I hear the voice of Frostmourne now.”_

_Arthas stated and Mal’Ganis chuckled, **“You hear the voice of the Dark Lord. He whispers to you through the blade you hold… What does he say, mortal? What does the Dark Lord of the Dead tell you?”**_

_He stated with some humor and Arthas grinned viciously, “He tells me, that the time for my vengeance has come.”_

_Arthas stated and Mal’Ganis was shocked and unable to do anything as Arthas shoved Frostmourne through his chest, **“No, he can’t possibly mean to…”**_

_Mal’Ganis didn’t finish as Arthas drove Leechbane through his skull, “Now your soul and your power are mine.”_

_Arthas stated while still grinning darkly at him even as Mal’Ganis screamed in pain and rage and Arthas felt his power filling him and laughed maniacally before he withdrew both blades from the shriveled husk of the Dreadlord and Frostmourne glowed before dark power crept up the blade and consumed him before the power died down to show the new Arthas._

_He stood in dark plate armor with skulls adorning it, his hair was white/silver, his eyes were a ghostly blue, and his skin was somewhat pale. His weapons changed too: His hammer became ebony handled and the head was obsidian black, Leechbane had black runes engraved over it and were glowing, Blood Cleaver was given putrid purple runes, and Stone Wrecker gained putrid green runes, while the Shield and Helm remained as they were, **“Now, I have power. Now, I have purpose and I will burn this world and rebuild it anew. Make way, for Death itself now walks the world.”**_

_Now_

Arthas took deep breaths as he stood there and, as he turned to walk back to his soldiers, a large black rune appeared on Frostmourne and glowed before tendrils lashed out of it that dug into Arthas’ heart and mind causing him to scream out before he began glowing and then fell to the ground coughing as the blade pierced the ground next to him, “What-what happened?”

He questioned before noticing a pair of black combat boots in front of him and looked up to see the man from before looking at him with his hands behind his back, “Well, that was a close call.”

The figure stated absentmindedly and Arthas coughed a bit as he tried to stand, “What-what are you talking about?” He asked as he was able to position himself into a sitting position as his legs didn’t have the strength to stand.

“Oh, well when you took the blade, depending on if your spirit was strong enough, the blade would take your soul as an insurance policy to ensure you served it and by extension its master. What just happened was my interference to ensure you stayed you and not some mindless butchering soldier. Those tendrils were from my influence on the blade returning your soul and fusing it with that of the Death Knight entity the blade gave you once you slew Mal’Ganis and took his demonic power that combined with the Runeblade’s own. Though considering you wouldn’t have taken the power without the dagger I gave you, this would have been much slower and lengthy and would have involved you slaughtering your soldiers and converting them to undead and other Death Knights. Now though, now you can use this matter to your advantage since the blade now serves you.”

He stated and Arthas looked to him in confusion, “Advantage?” He asked clearly confused and wondering what could be gained and the figure smiled and began walking around the still recovering Arthas.

“Yes, you see, you now have the powers, abilities, and skills of a Death Knight of the Scourge but still maintain your other powers, abilities, and skills and are presumably a soldier for the Scourge. While I am not saying to butcher innocent people, there are groups among the Humans and other races that need to be brought down quite a bit and there are even greater threats that are just waiting for the Scourge to fulfill their purpose.” He stated and Arthas frowned in thought.

“You’re talking about my father, the Knights of the Silver Hand, the Kirin Tor, and the High Elves. But what other threats are there that are even greater? The Orcs?” He asked while having believed for a few years now that the Kirin Tor was having too much say in certain matters and was not understanding that they were subservient to the kingdom not its equal and the Elves, minus a few, were arrogant and prideful due to their magical power source and they viewed themselves superior to any race not of their blood. The Orcs had always been a threat, though, unlike others, he didn’t kill first and ask question later.

“No, not the Orcs, but the ones who sent them.” The figure stated and Arthas widened his eyes while the figure chuckled, “Yes, the demons are preparing to, and will, return. The Lich King himself is a creation of one of the two Archdemons and was originally an Orc. It was I who gave him the necessary knowledge and plans to gain influence and Kel’Thuzad and then you as a champion since I had a hand in your creation and some of your skills and powers. Make no mistake, whether you decide to serve the Scourge or not, their warriors and creatures will follow you now and will do so regardless of the Lich King’s desires. Use your new found power and army to wipeout the necessary enemies for the demons to come to this world then use what you have to destroy them and begin rebuilding and uniting the word how you see fit. After all, you know fully well that there are several beings that need to fall.”

The figure stated as Arthas was trying to comprehend everything and the figure just chuckled again, “My powers are that of a demigod, yet I am not one, and I was the one who warned your grandfather about the coming war with the demons and he then increased your military and the sciences while having the Kirin Tor gain more funding to help. While this was all good, it made the Kirin Tor and others far too cocky in their abilities and thus are now in need of being taken down a peg… or several. I was also the one who ensured your natural leadership and ability to draw people to you and make them follow you just by being near them.” The figure stated and Arthas was beginning to see everything, “Yes, had I not given you that talent, you wouldn’t have the same support that you have now due to some possibly thinking differently. Jaina, Muradin, and Uther would still have followed you due to them seeing the reasons and purpose for your actions, but some of the soldiers who just immediately joined you over the king may not have and you would be hard pressed to have your previous victories and then there are the items I gave you and your closest confidants that furthered your prowess, abilities, and skills.”

The figure stated still circling Arthas, “You… you did all this to prepare me to bring down the Legion and end the war between the Alliance and the Horde, to unite the world in a way that would bring peace.” Arthas stated trying to fathom what was needed of him and what was to come against him.

“Yes, you see there is another matter at hand as well. Should the Lich King have had his way, there would many more of your people dead, he would have you as a loyal servant before fusing with you to create one being and time would pass until you were killed and freed from the madness of the blade, and the Scourge would slumber under the New Lich King’s watch to ensure they never rose up against the world again while the other races still fought with each other to no end. Even if you and he weren’t destroyed, his hunger would have made you seek a way to other worlds, other conquests. Now, now you are ready to take the Scourge, perhaps fuse with the Lich King and take his full power before you then unite the world and leave the other worlds to their own devices as your hunger would be controlled, if not sated, by your wife or wives should you find others since we both know there are at least two others that are in love with you.” The figure stated and Arthas had the decency to blush causing the figure to chuckle, “Regardless, you are the better choice of rulers between you and anyone else. As such, and because of your lack of armor fitting your new power and status, this is for you.”

The figure stated as he handed Arthas another bundle that Arthas took tentatively knowing full well the item contained could contain great power. As he looked up to thank the man, he saw him leaving, “Wait, who the hell are you and what do I tell my friends?!?” Arthas called out and the figure stopped and turned to face him slightly.

“I answered this before, but if you need something more substantial, my name is Damon Corvus. As for your allies, tell them the truth, tell them a lie, whatever you decide to tell them is fine as I’ll find you again later to explain things further once you have reached the next step in your journey and at that time it will be to your allies as well.” The now named Damon stated before smirking, “Counting the ones you don’t realize you have yet.” Damon finished before vanishing in a swirl of black fire leaving Arthas alone before he unwrapped the bundle and found a set of plate armor.

Nodding to himself, he stripped the armor he wore off and put the new one on before dawning his helmet and shield again as he reattached his weapons to him and trudged back to his camp while thinking about what to tell his people.

_Arthas’ Basecamp_

Jaina was pacing with Uther noticeable scraping a wet stone against his blade and Muradin kept twirling his axe in his hand. Naturally, they were all on edge waiting for Arthas to return and tell them what the next step was. They knew fully well that his father had to go at some point and that there were potentially others that were as bad or worse than him and Arthas would probably march against them, he just needed to tell them and they would follow. A shout at the border of the camp alerted them to someone approaching and they moved to the pathway in and saw a figure they didn’t recognize.

The figure from what they could see had silver hair and ghostly blue eyes and wore black scaled plate armor that covered his body while leaving him openings to move and it seemed lightweight and was covered in skull designs with the skulls’ eyes being blood red. However, the thing that grabbed their attention was that he had Frostmourne and the Helm and Shield of the Deathlord. Thinking that the figure was an enemy that killed Arthas, they readied their weapons before Shadow barked and ran up to the figure before nuzzling his leg and the figure patted his head lightly before removing the helm to show it was indeed Arthas and Jaina rushed up and engulfed him in a hug, which he returned, before they entered the camp and he sat down with his commanders sitting beside him, “What happened lad?”

Uther asked as Arthas set his helm down, “Mal’Ganis is dead by my hands and after I did the deed the blade tried to steal my soul and succeeded.” He stated getting horrified looks, “However, due to the interference of our mysterious ally, my soul was put back and the blade is now fully under my control along with the powers of a Death Knight.” He stated getting shocked looks, “Not only that, but he also told me his name is Damon Corvus and that apparently he wants me to assume control of the Scourge since they will obey me now that I am an undead general. He then went even further and informed me that he was responsible for my creation and some abilities as well as he aided my grandfather in building up our power and might.”

He stated shocking them again and Arthas sighed, “He also stated that there are people that need to be brought down, like my father, and the demons are going to return and I have to help them do it in order to destroy them.” He stated getting fearful and shocked looks, “Among those that need to fall are the Wizards of Dalaran, the High Elves, my father, and the Silver Hand Knights that remain. He also stated that he’ll reveal himself again when I have reached another point in my tasks and this time it will be to my allies as well, including ones that I don’t know of yet. “ He stated before looking to them, “The man held no deceit in his eyes when I looked into them, so now I find myself in a position where I have possibly one of the most feared and brutal armies in existence and my own people where I will have to break the power of several individuals in order to let an army of demons come and try to consume the world only to use my powers and skills to help bring them down and then try to unite the world under one banner. Heh, sounds like a challenge to me.”

He stated before looking to the others and Jaina snuggled closer to Arthas after kissing his cheek, “I told you before Arthas, I am not leaving your side. I will love you and stay beside you no matter what, even if it means becoming something other than Human.” She stated as she held him and Uther nodded.

“I’m with you as well lad, I swore my allegiance to you and you haven’t led us astray so if you believe we can trust this man and follow with this plan of his then I’m with you till the end.” Uther stated as Arthas nodded in thanks to his friend and mentor before turning to Muradin who snorted slightly.

“Let’s see: Suicidal mission, slim chance of success, small chance of survival, and probably not much thanks being sent our way afterwards.” He stated as he ticked off the things on his fingers before grinning, “Sounds like a normal day to me, what are we waiting for?” Muradin stated causing them all to blink before they laughed.

Arthas then stood and moved to address his soldiers and their families as they deserved to know fully well what they were getting into, “As you all know, the king is not being the kind of king we all respect and admire and thus have an issue before us as they will come for us again. The Undead view me as their commander now after taking Frostmourne and the power of their demon general thus I have them as my soldiers like you and we have a fighting chance. My _father_ must be brought down along with the remaining Silver Hand Knights as they have become as corrupt as he has and they are not the only ones: Dalaran has become arrogant and prideful believing they are above the kingdom and its subjects and anything they require is more important than the subjects and people, while the High Elves of Quel’Thalas have grown arrogant due to their magical abilities given to them by the Sunwell and there has been talk that they are going to break from the Alliance as they were of ‘too high a stature to be associated with Humans.’ I won’t lie to you, the demons that used the Orcs to invade us those years ago are returning and by weakening if not wiping out these entities we pave the way for the demons to return, but this also gives us the chance to destroy them once and for all and then help our world to heal. If any of you wish to back out, none of us will hold it against you and will understand your reluctance, but if you do join us then you are with us to the end.”

Arthas stated and many of his soldiers began murmuring while the magi and the Elves among his soldiers hung their heads in shame of their respective groups becoming so lost. However, none of those gathered before Arthas objected to him doing what they viewed as needed to be done and Arthas nodded before he found his sword humming and the same rune that gave him his soul pulse, **_“Use your combined powers through me and then stab me into the ground to mark them as your soldiers and empower them without turning them to undead.”_**

Spoke a ghostly voice from his blade and Arthas frowned before doing as it said and drew the blade before channeling both his holy and unholy powers into it before stabbing it into the ground and a pulse went out through all the people as the power entered them and changes occurred. The armors all turned darker and the designs changed to more gothic styles, the weapons gained more gothic looks and seemed deadlier, the magi’s eyes glowed as their hair changed to varying colors, the Elves all had their skin darkened while their hair changed from either very dark or pure white, and the Dwarves all grew a few inches while their hair, eyes, and skin changed.

The most surprising changes came to his commanders, Blaze, Starfire, and Shadow. Rane now had dark yet form fitting armor that showed her figure and muscle while she had a shadowy spear on her back while also being a little paler. Marwyn was now encased in pure black plate armor with two serrated edged swords on his back and a death like aura around him. Falric stood in obsidian colored armor with a large shield and wicked sword on his back with a blood red skull on the shield. Blaze was now pure black with blood red fire coming from his eyes, hooves, and all hair while being armored in blood red armor with black designs on it. Starfire was ash colored with blood red flames instead of black like Blaze and her armor was black.

Shadow was literally that: a shadow. He seemed to be in some form between a ghost and a living wolf with his eyes being pure blood red and his claws having a shine to them that made them stand out of his shadowy form. Muradin was like his fellow Dwarves but seemed to resemble his Avatar state more only with a black aura around him that made him look more intimidating when also combined with his now ghostly silver eyes. Uther had his hair turn black and his sword had gone to a darker silver almost grey color and had a dark purple aura surrounding it while his eyes were a glowing ghostly white. Jaina, in Arthas’ opinion, was gorgeously dangerous as her hair had gone silvery black, her eyes were a glowing crimson, her clothes went to a putrid purple with blood red runes and designs, her staff turned ebony with the crystal on top being a putrid green and it had silver runes all over it, and she had an aura of darkness around her.

All in all, they were all appeared to be truly deadly and dangerous individuals, “Now, we are our own people, and we will convert others that wish to join us as we travel. We have no kingdom, no home, no people outside of each other, but we are strong, we are mighty, and we will not be stopped.” Arthas stated as the new soldiers cheered for him in acknowledgement.

_Three Months Later: Lordaeron: Lordaeron_

The whole city was bustling and cheering as word reached them that Arthas had returned and they were joyous as their Crown Prince had come home at last. Arthas walked with a hood over his head and cloak hiding his form with six individuals flanking him wearing similar wear to hide themselves as they walked towards the Throne Room where their target resided. Arthas knew this kingdom was doomed the moment he set foot in it as already his forces, both converted and undead, were preparing to ransack this city and kill the individuals here that had no right to live in the world he wanted to make where no one was entitled to anything other than what they worked for, no one was better than someone else because they had material wealth, and no one was able to send others to their deaths if they themselves weren’t willing to march right beside them. Oh yes, this city would burn with a fire that made Stratholm appear like a child playing with a match.

As they entered the room, Arthas unsheathed his sword and knelt as was expected while the six individuals spaced themselves by the door and the king was not as pleased as people would think. Arthas only idly listened to him as he addressed him and spoke about how he could overlook the transgression of taking off without his approval before Arthas stood and walked up to him while the six moved and held off the guards. Arthas stood before his father blade in hand as he removed his hood and forced his father to his knees idly hearing him ask what he was doing and Arthas smiled viciously, “Succeeding you, _Father._ ” He stated before shoving Frostmourne through his chest and gripped his head to lock eyes with him, “ _Long live the king._ ” He stated with venom in his voice before shoving him back as his crown fell and parts broke from it as the blood of the former king pooled around it.

Arthas turned to see Uther breaking the necks of two guards with his bare hands while Jaina was flinging people around the room with her staff, Muradin was crushing heads, Rane was skewering a few, Marwyn had decapitated a few, and Falric gutted a few that came at him as Arthas launched a Death Coil, the unholy version of Holy Light, at a nearby emissary from Dalaran causing the man to scream out in pain as he withered away into a dry husk. He idly noticed that he and his people got more bloodthirsty and took enjoyment from causing harm to their enemies, but he wasn’t complaining as that was nothing to worry about compared to other things there could be.

Once the room was cleared, they heard sounds of combat and screams as Arthas smirked knowing both his Shadow Warriors, as they had taken to calling themselves, and his undead were breaching the city and who better to show them how to get in than the very soldiers that once guarded it?

Arthas waved to his commanders and they nodded before leaving the room to ensure that their troops broke through the more aggressive enemies while Arthas had something he had to retrieve that his grandfather had created and his father never touched so Arthas decided to put it to use. Going to his father’s withering corpse, which due to Frostmourne’s corrupting influence, Arthas removed a jeweled amulet from his person before heading down a corridor directly behind the throne once he placed the amulet into the back of the throne.

As Arthas descended he thought back on how things had changed from what he believed was going to happen with his life, though besides so many innocent dying, he wouldn’t change anything thus far. His thoughts were broken as he came to a large stone door with a slot for the amulet and he placed it inside as it opened and the amulet shattered as its purpose was to simply open the chamber. Once the doors were opened, he found three orbs resting on pedestals along with a wrapped up sword, ring, and small Warhammer.

Arthas then moved to the orbs, as that was what he wanted and the others were for the others: The one in the middle was pure white and glowing gold, the right one was glowing light green with a tornado like spiral in it, and the left one was a darker green with a bear claw glowing in the middle of it. Picking them up he watched as they faded into him and his hand gained another orb around it for each and learned the middle was the Orb of Light and made his attacks able to heal his allies while also allowing him to resurrect allies to live again but at a large cost of mana; the right one was the Orb of Wind that increased his speed, both attacking and movement, and gave a chance of releasing a miniature tornado that could harm his enemies; and the left was the Orb of the Wild which increased his power and attack speed, for a limited time, every time he killed/destroyed an enemy and allowed him to commune with trees and animals. Definitely useful abilities and Arthas then grabbed the other three items and walked out of the chamber planning on gifting his three commanders with the items.

_In the city_

The defenders were not having a good day; first their Prince returns, which many of them hoped he wouldn’t, then the undead attack with strange warriors, and now they were being flanked by six powerful juggernauts that resembled people they thought to be their allies and were being hard pressed to hold them back as the gates were crumbling, the skies were being over shadowed by beasts, and each time one of their own fell they would get right back up as an undead and attack them. As it stood, the city was slowly falling as blighted ground began to spread as the undead took more and more ground.

It only got worse as the Gryphons in the city suddenly went wild and attacked, but they also noticed they had become black with blood red eyes, and were grabbing their soldiers before dropping them from great heights or clawing them to death. Arthas watched the literal rain of death as he walked through the city that once was his home as he came from the Gryphon Roosts. A Necromancer then came to him and bowed, “Lord Arthas, our forces have met little resistance and this Capital City is crumbling as we speak. We also have found members of the Cult of the Damned that were hiding amongst the populace and they are beginning to help call our structures to the city from Northrend.”

He stated and Arthas nodded, “Excellent, instruct the other Necromancers to convert the corpses into Ghouls and Skeletons as we’ll be keeping this place for now.” Arthas ordered and the Necromancer nodded before leaving to do as told and Arthas merely watched the city burn since he knew no innocent like children were here due to the fact his father made it a law that children had to go to one of the bordering cities to be trained to fight or to be nurses if needed so there were no worries in just burning this entire city to the ground if he felt like it. Arthas then turned quickly to catch someone and then pinned them to a wall where he claimed their lips in a kiss and held their ass with both his hands causing the person to moan as they wrapped their legs around him and continued the kiss. Arthas then pulled back and stroked the figure’s cheek, “Eager are we, Jaina?” Arthas asked with a smirk as he, like her, had found that they now got excited from crushing their enemies and bringing their wrath down on anyone that was in their way.

Jaina nodded as Arthas’ hands went under her robes and gripped her ass tightly, “Yes, I want you so badly… my lord.” She stated with a blush as during their time traveling back from Northrend she had gained a bit of a fetish for him being her lord and master and she the obedient servant/slave that pleased him however he wanted, though Arthas treated her like a queen on occasions and in public, she still loved being treated the other way.

Arthas smirked wider before he shifted her clothes to hold her bare ass, “Then let me sate you, my good little slut.” He stated before turning her around and claimed her as the city burned and screams from others dying echoed in the distance.

_A week later: Vandermar Village_

Arthas, his commanders, Shadow, Starfire, and Blaze were trudging through the wasteland that was between Vandermar and the Capital as his undead horde just unleashed hell on the land both while he was gone and since he returned to his homeland. His forces were remaining in Lordaeron to turn it into a new and more powerful capital city while they moved to turn more of the kingdom. However, Minerva was sent with a decent sized contingent of soldiers on a side mission that Arthas promised would be rewarded in any way she desired if she followed his orders and succeeded. Naturally, she accepted and left her lover and king Arthas promised they would see each other soon.

Anyway, after Lordaeron fell, Arthas had given the items to his three commanders: Uther gained the Dragon’s Soul, Muradin gained the Doom Hammer, and Jaina received the Eye of Medivh.

Uther’s gift was a sword that Arthas’ grandfather had commissioned with the help of the Dwarves and the Magi by imbuing it with dragon blood and old runes to allow the blade to call forth dragon whelps depending on how much magical power was poured into it. However, it was deemed too cumbersome and needed too much magical power to be used so it was sealed away along with the items that Arthas took for himself that were created for an emergency… such as the war with the undead breaking out at the beginning.

Muradin’s was crafted and named after a Orc hammer that was wielded by a true terror in the older wars that was both feared and respected by the Alliance soldiers. The hammer was given powers from the darker sides of magic and was thus deemed unusable once Arthas’ grandfather was literally begged by the archmage to not let it be used by anyone. The hammer not only increased the fighting power of the user but it also had a chance to activate three runes that took in an amount of mana from the user to cast one of three spells that could cause death, destruction, and… well, doom on anyone in their way. However, what they didn’t know was that the user chose when to activate the spell as the rune would merely glow when it was ready to be activated. Another reason was that the amount of mana needed to use the spells was rather large, meaning it was greater than some middle class Magi even possessed, and the Magi could not see bringing that kind of wrath down on anyone. However, Arthas very well could and, thanks to Damon, Muradin was prepared to use the item and spells if needed.

(Thrall’s hammer is one word: Doomhammer)

Jaina’s item was probably every Mage/wizard/witch’s wet dream if they desired power: The Eye of Medivh was crafted and then infused with all the knowledge and power of the Archmage of the time as he had been an apprentice of Medivh and had read his spell book to learn more secrets after the man’s death. Not only did it vastly increase the spell power of the user, increase their mana by a factor of 1.5, and make their spells more powerful, but it also acted as a catalyst between any and all spells used regardless of the type of spell or the amount of power needed to utilize it. It was especially helpful due to the fact Jaina had been experimenting with summoning lesser demons and the ring acted as her go between thus negating the need for a soul gem and it increased their link to the mortal plain including that of Elementals as well, which was a bonus since Jaina’s elementals were always helpful and, due to being around Arthas and his auras so much, she could call fire and frost elementals in addition to her water ones.

Now, naturally, Uther and Muradin combined their items with their weapons from Damon, while Jaina wore hers as it was a black band covered in white and crimson runes with the gem on it being silver with a dark purple slit like pupil on the top of the gem. The three had practiced with their new abilities as did Arthas during their week long journey from Lordaeron to the village they were approaching now. However, as they approached a hill overlooking the village of Vandermar, a blast of demonic energy arose and revealed a larger and red version of Mal’Ganis and Arthas growled, “Mal’Ganis! I don’t know how you survived but…”

 **“Calm yourself young prince, I am not Mal’Ganis. I am Tichondrius and like him I am a Dreadlord. But I am not here to fight you; in truth I am here to congratulate you.”** He stated causing them to frown in confusion.

“Congratulate me?” Arthas questioned as he found it unlikely that one of Mal’Ganis’ kind would be happy for him to be dead, but then again demons probably climbed over their dying brothers to get a better position and chance at power.

 **“Yes, by taking the blade, killing your father, and then damning this land to the Scourge, you have passed your first test. The Lich King is… enthused by your actions, enthusiasm, brutality, ferocity, and, of course, your skills with converting warriors and people to your side in order to better achieve your objectives.”** Tichondrius stated as he stood on the hill like he was in control when those he looked at knew things to be to the contrary and Arthas knew he had to play dumb for them to believe he wasn’t free.

“Yes, I’ve killed my father, destroyed the peace the Kingdom knew, and killed practically everything I knew as a boy in his name… and yet I feel no remorse, no shame, no pity.” He stated knowing that the best lie was one that had truth all throughout it so no one could detect it as a lie.

 **“The Runeblade you hold was designed by the Lich King and empowered to steal souls and yours was the first it took before it then claimed everyone else’s that you’ve struck down since then.”** Tichondrius stated as he had been informed of the blade and what it could do and knew it was part of the reason Arthas had succeeded in killing Mal’Ganis, but only part. In truth, even if he would never admit it, Tichondrius was afraid of the power the Death Knight before him held and wouldn’t be lying if he said he thought he could actually perish if he faced the mortal.

“Then I’ll make do without one, what is the Lich King’s will?” Stated Arthas as he had stopped hearing the voice from the blade ever since Damon interfered on his behalf and now only the blade itself spoke to him on occasion and at times it seemed that it was sensing something else in the world that wanted its, and by extension his, attention.

 **“The Cult of the Damned must be assembled, while the few you found in the capital is a start, there are still more. Once you’ve gathered enough, I will give you further instructions.”** Tichondrius stated, while Arthas knew fully well that this demon was trying to act all high and mighty towards him to show that he was in charge when everyone there knew fully well that it could be anyone’s guess who would win if he and the demon fought as they both probably had their powers suppressed at the moment, which for Arthas was only due to his body still trying to blend and settle the war between his unholy magic and his holy.

Breaking from his musings, Arthas nodded before two Ghouls came up to him as he rode Blaze and they moved to the village with the Ghouls out in front as they trudged through before finding a cultist with some local villagers with the two Ghouls going for the kills immediately while Shadow moved and mauled one that tried to get away while Arthas just blasted a Death Coil at the residents before turning them into either Ghouls, Zombies, or Skeletons depending on if the Ghouls snacked on the corpses to some degree. Before they could move forward the Acolyte spoke to them, “Greetings my lord. Our master, Kel’Thuzad, said you would come.”

The Acolyte stated shocking Arthas and Jaina, “Kel’Thuzad?!? But how could he possibly…”

Arthas didn’t finish as the Acolyte spoke again, “Be wary, if the townspeople see you, they will alert the local guards. Seek out the local graveyard to reinforce your group.”

He stated before he was summoned away and Arthas frowned before moving forward before finding a Shade, which was an invisible scout unit for the Scourge and was connected to those that served the Scourge and Arthas sent him out to scout the area and they saw that there were three Footmen, one Captain, 2 Knights, and group of peasants and horses with that path directly in front of them splitting up and down. Arthas motioned with his hands and Falric, Marwyn, and Rane moved along the upper path to kill the Footmen and Captain while Arthas and the remaining group went to the lower path and sent the undead at the villagers while he retrieved the Acolyte and his commanders killed the knights and destroyed the stable and Barracks that was there.

They regrouped in front of the town gate though the Shade showed there was a path around the wall through some trees, the fools, and sent his undead around while he drew his hammer, that he renamed as Death’s Embrace to replace Light’s Vengeance, and then threw it through the gate shattering it and killing the guards on the other side as his undead swarmed through killing people and soldiers alike that his commanders joined in on while he went to the graveyard and called forth more undead to ravage the village. He felt no pity for it as this was one of the seedier and more corrupted areas of the kingdom that his father never had the guts to just burn away to clear it. Well, he certainly wasn’t like his father… or was he since Damon could be classified as his father?

Ah well, he could sort that out later, Arthas sent his undead to continue destroying the town while he followed a path from behind the town hall and stumbled upon an interesting sight of a familiar band of mercenaries that Arthas hadn’t seen in almost a year, when he defeated their captain outside of Strahnbrad and it seemed they had gained quite a few more to their band, “Well, it’s been awhile since I last saw you lot.”

Arthas stated as some of the veterans of the band widened their eyes, “Lord Arthas!” They stated as Magran came and bowed before him before the others then began showing their own brand of respect to him while the newbies followed suit. The veterans remembered fully well the Prince that brought down their leader with ease and had gained them as soldiers before they left for different areas, but never forgot their honor or their pledge. Magran for his part was never the same after Arthas bested him as he could tell the man was well trained and destined for greatness despite the so called claims that the man was defying the king. When word reached them that Arthas had killed the king, they moved towards the capitol to join him as he knew there would be quite a few people out for his head and if he happened to be leading the undead now, as the rumors let on to, then all the better since that meant they didn’t have to face the undead either… or at least they hoped not.

Arthas noted that Magran had changed slightly as he had a long gash down his left eye and wore thick metal studded leather armor with a nasty looking serrated spear on his back and two smaller ones there as well with a set of knives on his waist. Beyond that, he looked pretty much the same as before with raven colored hair that was shorter than Arthas’, a goatee with a few bald lines due to scars, onyx eyes, a build that was slightly bulkier than that of a runner, and he had tanned skin that showed he was outdoors quite a bit but not so dark to that one would think he bathed in the sun regularly.

Breaking from his musings, Arthas addressed them again, “I am pleased to find you here. I could use some more soldiers to help me bring down my enemies. That is, if you are still willing to swear fealty to me and follow me into hell.” Arthas stated as he knew he would need more than the undead to bring his enemies down. Yes, he could just send wave after wave of undead until the enemy was too weak to fight, but that was for when he had time to do lengthy sieges and it didn’t matter how many of his forces fell.

The mercenaries all nodded and saluted to him while Magran bowed again with his weapons low in respect before Arthas repeated the same process he used on his soldiers in Northrend and they all gained darkened skin, the leather armor they wore turned rougher and became dark, and their weapons had different runes glowing on them. The new additions to his Shadow Warriors saluted to him before he sent them to pillage and destroy as he found that Frostmourne connected him to them so they could learn what he wanted them to do and what their purpose for this town was without having to take the needed time to explain it.

With that said and done, Arthas moved to the next gate and destroyed it like the last before he threw Leechbane and Blood Cleaver into two Knights that were attempting to ride down an Acolyte. Arthas then walked forward while his Undead and Mercenaries rushed in as more screaming occurred as his commanders began walking in with him though Arthas was the only one no longer wearing the cloak and Magran stayed by Arthas. As they walked, they started hearing the sounds of Ghouls dying and frowned before they moved and found a Paladin, mage, and two Dwarven Warriors there in the center of town striking down enemies left and right. As they approached, the undead moved away and continued to ransack the town as the four turned to face Arthas and his band, “You! You damn traitorous bastard, we’ll make you pat for this butchery and for the death of your father, Muradin, Jaina, and Uther.”

Shouted the Paladin while Arthas raised an eyebrow at the man in confusion before making a hand motion and Marwyn, Rane, and Falric went out to help the undead finish faster while Uther, Muradin, and Jaina stepped forward before throwing aside the cloaks. Muradin now had thicker plate armor that was the same design and everything as it was in Northrend after Arthas converted them; Uther’s armor was bulkier and had some openings to allow movement while having dragon, eagle, and demon heads as designs, but was largely the same; and Jaina had crimson robes that hugged her figure well with black runes over it with pieces of armor over a few areas to provide extra protection and a black over robe that seemed to flow in an invisible wind. (Basically a crimson and black version of Jedi Battle Robes)

Needless to say, the four were shocked, “You think I would kill my brothers and love? You’re a fool, they joined me willingly and I’ve helped them grow beyond what they were when serving the Alliance.” He stated though he now noticed one of the Dwarves was female and had scarlet hair, sky blue eyes, a decent hourglass figure (for a Dwarf), and had a rifle on her back with a sword and axe on her waist. He frowned as he felt he knew her, but when he saw her look to Muradin with joy and love, he remembered: this was Maya Bronzebeard, the wife of Magni Bronzebeard and the woman Muradin loved and recently, thanks to Damon’s letter, found out was loved back.

The Paladin growled, “Don’t worry brother; we’ll free you from that bastard’s control.” The Paladin growled causing the people by Arthas to scowl at him before Uther looked to Arthas for permission and Arthas nodded before Uther was in front of the Paladin socking him in the face and sending him flying backwards into a nearby church before Muradin did the same to the male Dwarven warrior sending him sailing into a guard house and Jaina used her magic to fling the mage into a nearby store before the three went after their targets.

Arthas then turned to Maya who merely stood there and Arthas removed his helm to gaze at her, “Hello Maya, it is good to see you again.”

Arthas stated with a smile that Maya returned, “You as well Arthas, though if I had learned Muradin was dead then I would have made it my mission to kill you.” She stated and Arthas nodded knowing it was true.

“Then I am very fortunate that Muradin is not dead and you do not have to try and kill me. However, you should know that he is aware that you are in love with him and wants to talk to you.” He stated getting a shocked look from Maya as she wanted to tell him once she found him.

_With Uther_

Uther entered the church looking for the Paladin as he was sure that strike more than likely made him a little slower than he was before Uther slugged him. As Uther reached the center, he was blasted by holy light… which didn’t work since Uther wasn’t technically undead. Uther turned to look before frowning as he didn’t have time for this so he drew his hammer, which like Arthas’ turned obsidian, and channeled his dark/unholy power into it before slamming it on the ground causing a large shockwave to echo out and sent the Paladin into a nearby wall where one of the benches slammed into him disorienting him. Uther approached the man before breaking his left leg and stared at the man, “Uther… you must… fight it.”

The man rasped and Uther growled before grasping the man’s head and lifting him off the ground, “Fool, I didn’t fall to someone’s influence nor am I controlled. I willingly joined Arthas as he is better than his father ever was and its time I helped him remove another arrogant fool from his new land.” Uther stated angrily before he began crushing the man’s head as he screamed in pain and for mercy… and received none in return. When the man was dead, Uther flicked the blood from his hands before moving to regroup with Arthas.

_With Muradin_

Muradin had chopped through some of the wooden wall that his enemy went through as some had collapsed once he sent that other Dwarf through the wall. As he walked carefully, his battle senses went off and he jumped just in time to avoid an axe chop before he retaliated with a Storm Bolt that the Dwarf attempted to block but got sent hurdling into a wall. The Dwarf attempted to get up but found himself suddenly being sent flying via Thunderclap right next to him before he found himself in a vice like grip that was Muradin’s hand around his neck and staring into said Dwarf’s hatred filled, glowing, silver eyes, “I can see it in your eyes boy, you were sent to kill me regardless of if I was controlled, dead, or neither. Well, I guess that would be my brother whenever he was threatened he went out of his way to ensure the threat was removed. Well he can kiss my arse! I’m helping Arthas with his goals and when that goal turns to claiming Ironforge into his kingdom then I’ll volunteer to lead the assault myself.”

Muradin stated and the Dwarf struggled slightly, “Damn… traitor.”

The Dwarf rasped and Muradin glared while slowly increasing the pressure on the Dwarf’s throat, “As if my brother is any better.” He stated before snapping the Dwarf’s neck and dropped him before walking back to Arthas and, by extension, Maya.

_With Jaina_

Jaina casually walked into the store where she threw the mage before she moved slightly as a lightning bolt flew past her and she retaliated with a blizzard spell that made the mage move quickly before he found himself slammed in the face by the end of Jaina’s staff, “You might as well give up; you can beat me.”

Jaina stated to the mage who spat out a tooth, “Damn you, you traitorous bitch, and damn that bastard to hell. Once I get my hands on him, I’ll make him no a fate worse than death…” He stated but didn’t finish as he was suddenly sent into the ceiling, then the wall, then the floor, then the other wall, then repeated this for about 5 full rotations before he was slammed into the ground hard.

Jaina then used her staff to lift him into the air while glaring at him with her glowing crimson eyes, “You’ll never have the chance.” She growled before she then flexed her hands and he was literally torn to pieces before she dropped him and went back to her lover.

_With Tichondrius: Half an hour later_

Arthas and his group came back to Tichondrius once the last of the Acolytes had been reclaimed and Maya was now standing lovingly next to Muradin while now also being converted to Arthas’ growing forces and resembled the other Dwarves only obviously female. Tichondrius nodded approvingly at the cult members, **“You’ve done well Death Knight, the cult is nearly assembled.”** He stated while internally frowning at the Death Knight gaining more soldiers to his side and Arthas was frowning as they went through the trouble of getting the cultists but now it was no use in Lordaeron.

“Lordaeron lies in ashes! What good are these cultists now?” Arthas stated as he had an idea where and what they were going to do next but couldn’t act like he did know.

 **“These cultists will aid you in your next task: Retrieving the remains of the cult’s leader, the Necromancer Kel’Thuzad.”** He stated getting surprised and confused expressions from them while Arthas figured this was probably the reason why Kel’Thuzad stated it wouldn’t matter if Arthas killed him or not since the plague still spread, the kingdom still fell, and now it looked like Kel’Thuzad was going to be brought back. So basically, and realistically, he was right.

**Done! I am pretty sure I got quite a few of you with thinking that Arthas was going all dark like in the game, well surprise, surprise. I bet a lot of you forgot that Damon had made contact with Frostmourne at the start of the fic and altered it slightly. Well, now you know what he did to it and why.**

**To other matters, the next chapter will do more of the Undead campaign and more than likely show another three allies/sets of soldiers for Arthas: one you know for sure, one you should be able to guess, and one that you should know but have probably forgotten about.**

**On another note, I have an idea for a sequel to this.** **Said sequel will be Arthas leading his group to another world, and it wasn’t through them that connection was made so Damon won’t be upset, and will then move to take that world or at least help it. What I want from you is what world should it be? It can be any world where he would have to face armies, heavy resistance, or Kil’Jaeden sized/powered enemies, but if I don’t know the item then I’m afraid it’s out.**

**Anyway, I have a poll for the next Naruto fic I will do and one for the first lemon story I will try, so vote if you are interested as there are a few ideas that many people seemed to be interested in. If nothing else, maybe it will be a fic that you are interested in trying for yourself.**

**So let me hear your thoughts on those matters and like I said above check my profile for polls and such. Later everyone, hope to see some reviews and comments.**


	7. The Necromancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthas have his next task, now it's time to remove everyone in his way

**Hello all, welcome back to Lich King’s Ascension, this time is more of the Undead Campaign.**

**Specifically, this will cover the recovery of the remains and getting the Urn and two thirds of the Quel’Thalas arc. You also get to see more growth of Arthas and his group, where Uther’s Love Interest is, and Arthas’ next allies.**

**Oh, someone asked if I was doing the whole ‘blast or chop down trees in order to get to certain paths’ and the answer is no since there isn’t a reason to unless it’s to get any large scale beings through such as Meat Wagons and/or Abominations. There will be more of such units, but that would be spoiling some things for y’all.**

**Lemon this chapter and as before it will be marked.**

**Also, I am going to have women from other items in here as there aren’t that many known Warcraft women and I am too lazy to make enough OCs to find it satisfactory. If you would like to give women to use, then do so just list the item they are from so if I need to I can look them up (both for descriptions and so I can see if I know them or not) and if I like them better than one I have picked then I may switch them out. You will see one in this chapter.**

**A couple of you have asked for more detailed fights between Arthas and his group and their enemies (like when Arthas was defending Hearthglen), unfortunately that won’t be happening very much till around the Dalaran arc and then the Kalimdor arc since in World of Warcraft, the books, and the games the lore goes that the when Arthas took command, the Undead just swept across the lands and butchered everything in their path no matter how many fell. So, mainly this is Arthas and his commanders sending their mobs and mobs of cannon fodder to wipe out or weaken the enemy**

**Lastly, someone asked me to explain how the harem would work: Basically Arthas is King/Lord of his kingdom and group, women like Jaina will be his wives/queens (with Jaina being the full on Queen) , and the other women are essentially his concubines that are there for his (and his Queens’) needs and satisfaction should all of his queens be pregnant at the same time though some have more authority than others. Arthas does care for them, but they either didn’t want a position as queen or have another function such as being a guard for Arthas or a guard for one of his queens and don’t want/need to change positions as they are happy to serve in any capacity while still getting Arthas as their lover in some fashion.**

**So let’s just get the usual stuff out of the way now.**

**LAST TIME FOR THIS NOTE: I tend not to describe people that can be looked up unless I change their appearance or if it’s an OC and they will not be hanging around for a while, which is basically anyone of a class that is gonna get in Arthas’ way but is not part of canon or any official item of Warcraft Lore.**

**NOTICE: Weapon descriptions in this are for you guys, it is not how the people in this story would describe them. So if I mention a Kukri or a Templar Sword, then it’s so you can picture what the weapon looks like better than me butchering a true description.**

**Now, let’s get to what y’all are all here for.**

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Warcraft, Blizzard, or a great many things that will be in this fic except for some OCs. If I owned Warcraft… you know… I can’t think of another thing to change at the moment… bummer.**

(Author’s Notes)

“Speech”

_“Thoughts”_

_‘Language other than common’_

_(Mental conversations)_

**“Non-Humanoid (Demons, spirits, etc. etc.) speech”**

**_“Above’s thoughts”_ **

**_‘Above’s speech in other language’_ **

**_(Mental conversations)_ **

**Spell Names**

**Chapter 7: The Necromancer**

**_Andorhal: Two Days Later_ **

Arthas and his band approached Andorhal with a few less soldiers than they had when leaving Vandermar as he had a squad of his mercenaries head for the coast to secure a few ships as he was going to send them and some others to reinforce Minerva since he sent some shades with her so he knew where to go. You see, he had decided to take the Prophet’s warning, at least partially, and sent Minerva and a portion of his forces to a continent called Kalimdor that was west of the lands he knew and decided if nothing else that he would have a bastion to use should any plans he made for these lands fail or the demons attempt to remove him and his people from the world entirely. So, he was following the wise choice of being safe over being sorry and planned to send Uther to further reinforce Minerva after they made some more headway here as he wanted his mentor with him to push past the next batches of resistance.

Shaking those thoughts away, Arthas continued trudging through the area before they grew close to Andorhal where they met up with several acolytes, “These Meat Wagons will help you transport the remains of Kel’Thuzad.” The lead acolyte stated as the others began moving out of the way.

“Why do we need to transport him anywhere? Why not just simply revive him here and be done with it?” Arthas demanded with a frown and the acolyte placated him as to not incur his wrath.

“Forgive me my lord, but it would take a substantial amount of energy and power to revive a being such a Kel’Thuzad.” The acolyte informed and Arthas grunted as he rode forward with his soldiers and the Meat Wagons following before they came across a small outpost and immediately had the Meat Wagons fire on it and watched as the buildings crumbled but it appeared that it was merely a scouting area since there were no guards there.

Not caring to waste more time, Arthas pressed forward and saw one of the few remaining Paladins of the Silver Hand running farther in with some Footmen following him. Narrowing his eyes he continued forward before an arrow landed right in front of him and his Meat Wagons quickly fired into the trees knocking several over and they heard screams of pain and terror as the attackers were crushed by the trees.

Pushing in more, they came across a small encampment and Jaina set fire to the Meat Wagon’s ammo and they fired down on the encampment causing shouting and screaming as they burned before the Ghouls rushed in to finish off the survivors. Arthas and the others merely walked through as the Ghouls killed a few Footmen and fed on the corpses before they came to an actual outpost with the Paladin from before standing there and Arthas recognized the man as Gavinrad the Dire, who was the faction leader of the Champions of Peace, “Arthas, stop this madness before it’s too late. Uther wouldn’t have wanted you to do this.” The man stated causing five sighs of exasperation before Uther rode forward slightly shocking Gavinrad.

“You damn fool; I support Arthas in his endeavors and will not allow you to stand in the way.” Uther stated before he motioned his hand and the Meat Wagons fired a few volleys upon the area before the Ghouls and Skeletons rushed in with Muradin and Uther right behind them.

Gavinrad, being one of the lower ranked Paladins, was not prepared for the swarming tactics of the Undead nor was he prepared for Uther coming up and swinging his hammer down on him. Gavinrad blocked but was unprepared for the follow up attack in the form of Uther’s boot slamming into his torso sending him skidding back before a bunch of Ghouls jumped him and began stabbing him repeatedly with their claws causing him to scream in pain before he died there.

Uther glared down at the corpse before moving aside for his king after deciding not to spit on the corpse since he was not about to sink to their level. Arthas patted Uther’s shoulder and kicked the body over before finding a dagger on him and saw that it was rather ornate and felt magic on it. Shrugging to himself he pulled Leechbane and pressed the dagger against it before Leechbane absorbed it and glowed a moment before he learned that the dagger was Kelen’s Dagger of Escape which allowed the user to use the spell **Blink** and decided that such a thing was useful in any up and coming fights.

Arthas then walked past not caring that the Ghouls began to feast on the corpses as his shadow warriors began scavenging anything they could from the buildings that were still somewhat intact. Arthas then arrived at the grave he put Kel’Thuzad’s corpse in and moved the rocks he toppled on it away, **“I did warn you that killing me would change nothing.”** Kel’Thuzad’s disembodied voice spoke causing Arthas to turn to him without any surprise.

“Perhaps, but it did help me feel better at the time.” Arthas stated before calling a Meat Wagon up and putting the remains within before calling up several Ghouls and Skeletons from the graveyard to serve him before they went down to the eastern border of Andorhal where Tichondrius waited.

The demon then snarled, **“These remains are too badly decomposed! They’ll never make it to Quel’Thalas in this state.”** He stated angrily while Arthas raised an eyebrow.

“Quel’Thalas? What the damn are we going there for?” He asked and the demon snorted in disdain.

 **“The power of the Elves’ Sunwell is the only nearby source of power that can revive Kel’Thuzad. Now you will need to obtain a special ceremonial Urn from the nearby Silver Hand camp, it will protect the remains long enough to reach the Elves’ homeland.”** He stated before disappearing in a swarm of bats.

Arthas scoffed slightly while looking forward to when he could kill the damn Dreadlord, **“Be wary young Death Knight, the Dreadlords are the Lich King’s jailors and cannot be trusted.”** Kel’Thuzad chimed in getting a snort from Arthas.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” He stated before his cultists began calling forth several buildings to protect the area including a Necropolis, several Ziggurats, and a fully stocked Graveyard. Several of his Ghouls then began harvesting lumber to help build more Meat Wagons and other machinations that Arthas may want or need later.

Arthas then set up his soldiers in ambush positions at the entrance to what was left of the town while he and his commanders ensured there was no way to get flanked. So Muradin and Uther went south with some Ghouls and soldiers while Arthas and Jaina went north into some of the forested area they hadn’t explored.

Arthas and Jaina explored a bit before coming across a small encampment of rogue wizards that immediately attacked them and Jaina and Arthas moved out of the way before Jaina retaliated by casting **Blizzard** on them and two were skewered. Arthas then threw Leechbane into one before **Blinking** next to another and cut his head off with Frostmourne and then launched a **Death Coil** at the leader causing him to scream in pain as his body withered away. Jaina took care of the last two by using her magic to begin slamming them into each other repeatedly before throwing them .through a couple trees where they were impaled on branches.

Arthas smirked at his queen being so ruthless and went through the belongings of the wizards they’d killed and found a strange staff before tossing it to Jaina, who had just pulled a wand from one of the apprentice ranked wizards. She caught the staff and pressed both the wand and staff against her main staff and watched as they absorbed before she snorted and rolled her eyes, “Idiots had a Staff of Silencing and Wand of Lightning Shield and didn’t even use them.” She stated shaking her head and Arthas smirked before kissing her cheek and they went back down the path before finding a hidden path through the trees and proceeded to follow it.

They trudged a bit before coming across a curious sight of several Sasquatches gathered around a fire pit before they began panicking from Arthas and Jaina approaching and several fled while a large grey one and two smaller black ones charged them. Arthas didn’t do much besides walking forward and dodging the first swipe of one of the black ones before he bisected it, blocked the swipe from the second before he grabbed it by the throat and slammed it onto the ground and crushed the head under his boot, and then threw Leechbane into the grey one’s head killing it instantly before he recalled his dagger and both he and Jaina began digging through the treasure horde that the creatures had accumulated. After taking some gold and supplies, Arthas found a helm that seemed to have some power to it and looked familiar for some reason so he took it with them back to the camp.

Upon returning to their area, they found several corpses of soldiers from Lordaeron and Uther and Muradin there and Arthas tossed Muradin the helm and he eyed it before changing his current his helm for it before he shook his head, “By my beard boy, you have to be the luckiest bastard I have ever met.” Muradin commented getting looks of confusion, “This is the Helm of Kings: it’s a Dwarven relic that we lost decades ago and that’s not even counting the helm that Uther found.” He informed and Uther nodded confirming he did find a helm of his own.

“It’s true, I found a Helm of Valor amongst a stockpile we found buried under some rocks before some golems attacked us.” Uther stated while tapping his Helm of Insight to get the message across that his helm absorbed the other.

“That’s good, but for now we must remove the Paladins that are hold up within this town.” Arthas commented making them nod before they approached the entrance and Arthas waved his hand over the corpses making the soldiers rise as Ghouls and skeletons as well as some from a graveyard summoned from Northrend stockpiled with corpses before he waved them forward and they charged into the town with Arthas and some of his soldiers following since he didn’t believe the Undead would kill everyone within and he didn’t want the cultists left unprotected.

The first section of the town was only a few Footmen and militia with a Paladin named Ballador the Bright and he was doing better than Gavinrad had done as there were dead Ghouls and a couple skeletons around him but he wasn’t getting through unscathed as pieces of his armor were on the floor and he was bleeding from cuts and gashes on him. It wasn’t that surprising since Ballador was more skilled than Gavinrad due to the difference in time being a Paladin for the Knights of the Silverhand.

However, Muradin decided to finish this while Arthas’ soldiers went and began scavenging the area. The Ghouls moved for Muradin and Ballador turned to face him with a snarl on his face before he lashed out with a hammer strike that Muradin dodged before kicking the man back. Ballador grit his teeth and swung his hammer again and Muradin blocked it with his easily before throwing his axe right into Ballador’s face.

Ballador fell over dead and Muradin went over and reclaimed his axe before searching the body and found nothing of interest so he let the Ghouls have at it before rejoining Arthas. The group went to the next area to go through with the non-feeding Ghouls and the Skeletons rushed in before the sounds of combat echoed out again as they moved at a more moderate pace.

They arrived to find several of the Skeletons were dead and it was due to a Paladin that Uther knew as Sage Truthbearer and was one of the biggest assholes in the Silverhand since he only believed whatever truth suited his views of the Light. In other words, another delusional fool that no one except their enemies would miss if they removed him.

Upon seeing Arthas, Sage was furious, “Uther devoted his life to you and your father and this is how you repay him?” He shouted angrily and Arthas merely raised an eyebrow wondering how delusional the Knights had become that they couldn’t fathom that Uther was on his side. Then again, if word got out that one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of their order turned against them it would probably shatter their moral and break the few strings holding the group together so the ones in the know were probably keeping it quiet.

When Uther walked forward, Sage’s eyes widened in recognition, realization, and horror and Uther frowned before he quickly threw his hammer causing it to slam into Sage sending him flying back before Uther went after him while Arthas and the others scavenged this section of the town as well to be sure they had everything they needed for their own plans.

They absentmindedly heard Sage screaming in pain as they gathered everything they might need and had the Ghouls ready to charge to the last area before Uther came back a little bloodied but it was obvious that it wasn’t his blood.

Arthas then had the majority of his group begin scavenging everything from the town including the wood and brick while he, his commanders, and the Ghouls moved forward to a natural bridge over the river.

On the other side of the bridge stood an older paladin with silver hair and cerulean armor and cloak with the mark of the Silverhand in silver on the cloak and armor. He held a large Warhammer that was cerulean and ivory. This was Sir Darwin Landstrad a senior member of the knights and seemed to be… uncaring towards the current situation, “What are you doing here boy?” The man asked condescendingly as if Arthas was nothing more than a nuisance and not a threat in the slightest.

“Of course.” Arthas muttered since he despised this man as he never treated Arthas with any respect, “I already killed three of your brothers, now I just need to kill you and take the urn.” Arthas stated making the man react as his eyes narrowed and his fist tightened slightly.

“That urn contains the ashes of the king, you insolent brat, you’ll never desecrate it with your filthy hands.” He stated preparing his hammer and Arthas rolled his eyes as he merely walked forward with his sword to the side.

Darwin rushed forward with his **Divine Shield** activated and swung his hammer down on Arthas, who merely watched the hammer come at him before he caught it stopping Darwin in his tracks to the shock of Darwin and Arthas’ allies. Arthas merely looked at Darwin in boredom before he slammed the head of hammer back into him pushing him back before Arthas tossed the hammer away. Darwin growled and launched at Arthas, but Arthas merely dodged before grabbing Darwin by the leg and slammed him into the ground repeatedly draining his shield with each hit before Arthas threw him into a tree making him groan as his shield shattered.

Arthas then grabbed him by his legs and swung him into the tree a few more times before the tree broke and Arthas tossed him back to the center of the clearing as Darwin hacked up blood. Darwin then used a **Holy Light** to heal his wounds but lacked the power to fully do it. He managed to crawl to his hammer and threw it at Arthas, but Arthas merely caught it before he dropped it on the ground and approached Darwin before grabbing him by the neck and lifting him. Darwin smirked and blasted Arthas point blank with **Holy Light** and expected him to be in pain like any Undead. What he did not expect was for Arthas to still be standing there unharmed, “Fool, you think I’m some mindless Undead? I am the lord of these lands and the lord of my army and will not submit to anyone.” Arthas snarled before he raised Darwin and slammed him down back first onto his knee breaking Darwin’s spine making him freeze in a scream before Arthas twisted him separating his spine entirely and killing him.

Arthas tossed the corpse to the waiting Ghouls before taking the Urn and dumping the ashes out and heading back to camp.

Upon reaching said camp, Arthas moved the remains of Kel’Thuzad into the Urn and sealed it causing it to have a sickly green glow. A moment later the Dreadlord returned, **“Ah, perhaps you are capable. Now that your task is complete, the journey to Quel’Thalas can begin. Don’t disappoint us, Death Knight.”** Tichondrius stated in the same condescending superior tone that he always has before dispersing in a swarm of bats.

Arthas snorted, “I’ll enjoy running him through with my blade when I get the chance.” Arthas stated making the others nod before they rested for the day and planned to head out in a few hours.

**_Meanwhile within the Twisting Nether: The Dreadlords’ Citadel_ **

Tichondrius stood in a cavern covered in fire with a revenant, some Ghouls, Acolytes, Abominations, and other things dwelling and moving about within as he waited for two of his cohorts to come.

A moment later, Anetheron and Mephistroth appeared with an Acolyte following each of them with the same color glow as the two Dreadlords, **“Is everything proceeding as planned, Tichondrius? Lord Archimonde demands a report on the Scourge.”** Anetheron questioned as he stood before Tichondrius.

Tichondrius hummed a moment before replying, **“The Lich King's young death knight has been performing well... almost too well. I begin to wonder if Ner'zhul has ulterior motives for his new... champion.”**

Mephistroth scoffed, **“The human means nothing in the long run. Ner'zhul wouldn't dare undermine our efforts now.”** He stated with the slight mental programming taking affect.

Anetheron nodded in agreement, **“Our only concern is that the Scourge accomplishes what it was created to do. Archimonde will have all our heads if we do not keep control of this situation!”** He stated knowing that Archimonde was NOT a fan of mercy and his version of it would often having you wish your enemies had you instead.

Tichondrius merely snorted, **“Believe me, brother. Neither the Lich King nor his undead lackeys will jeopardize the Legion's return!”** Tichondrius stated knowing such a thing was unlikely in the fullest.

Anetheron sneered, **“See that they do not. Lord Archimonde has little patience for failure and we will have little trouble pinning the blame on you should it occur.”** Anetheron stated knowing they could do it with Tichondrius being in charge of the whole thing, thus any failure was his failure.

Tichondrius merely growled before the three dispersed from the area to go about their own business.

**_A week later: Near the Borders of Quel’Thalas_ **

Arthas stood on a hill overlooking the forests seeing the magic flowing in the air, “Quel’Thalas… I haven’t been here since I was young and even then it wasn’t as long as I would have liked.” Arthas commented to his commanders and his haunting ghost that was near him.

 **“Be wary, the Elves will not take kindly to your forces entering their lands and likely wait to ambush you.”** Kel’Thuzad stated making Arthas smirk.

“Perhaps, but what they don’t know is that I have an ace up my sleeve that they won’t see coming until it is far too late.” Arthas stated cryptically before moving back to where Uther had an Elf on his knees, “Tell me the way into your home and I won’t have to kill all your people between here and there.” Arthas stated knowing that each Elf was trained to fight from a young age even if they didn’t join an area that involved combat and he knew his own Elven soldiers wouldn’t want to shed too much blood if they could help it.

The Elf spat on his feet, “Do your worst betrayer, the woods themselves protect our lands and the forest is more than trees that bar your path. You will not make it to Silvermoon with your life.” He snarled not liking some Human daring to enter his people’s homeland or the fact some of his kin were serving him.

“That’s where you’re wrong, even now your forest’s magics are being drained and fed to me and my warriors and if you think the beasts of these woods will stop us… well… I could always use some meat to feed my troops.” Arthas stated before he stabbed him with Frostmourne making the Elf gasp as he began to shrivel up and die, “Bring up the Meat Wagons, we’ll blast through the thicker brush until we find a clearing to use.” Arthas ordered as the wagons came up and began firing breaking apart the thick brush and trees.

Just on the other side of a 20 foot thick thicket of trees and brush was an Elven settlement and his Ghouls and warriors rushed in and began destroying the buildings and killing the attackers while his spell casters kept the peasants from retreating to warn the other groups by clustering them together.

Once the “fight” was done, Arthas surveyed the peasants seeing a few recognized him while his Acolytes summoned buildings, “So, you live at the borders of your domain and the leaders of your people don’t even give you adequate protection should an enemy march on your domain? It seems you are the expendable group of the Elves.” Arthas stated looking over them as a few growled at him while a few seemed to see the truth in his words, “Your choice now is to join me or die and then be brought back as an Undead that will serve me anyway. Already some of your kin serve me of their own freewill and they can vouch that I am a better leader than that fool who sits on your throne with his council supporting him.” Arthas stated since the king was a fool, but his son was actually a friend of Arthas’ and he wouldn’t disrespect him.

A couple of the Elves seemed to be considering it, a few looked ready to join, and the last couple were snarling at him, “Do you worst, you bastard betrayer. These lands will never submit to you.” One of the more daring Elves stated before he was shot in the head by an arrow and Arthas turned to see a beautiful Elven woman there with some others with her: She had large DD cup breasts, a slim figure shown by her armor basically being a corset that accentuated her breasts and showed her midriff, boots that went up her slender legs to just under her knees, a blue cloak with golden trim, long flowing blond hair similar to what Arthas once possessed, crystal blue eyes, full plump lips, an ebony bow in her hands, and a quiver of arrows on her back.

Arthas smiled seeing the second love of his life, Sylvanas Windrunner and said woman was lowering her bow after shooting the arrogant Elf. The other Elves were shocked that their chief guardian had just done that as she walked up to Arthas, who dismounted Blaze, and both just stared at the other before Arthas raised his hand and gently pushed her hood back showing her beauty in the light before she brought her hand up and caressed his face seeing the same man in his eyes despite the aura and appearance he held.

Arthas smiled and said something that made Sylvanas know it was indeed him, “My Ranger of the Winds.” He stated and Sylvanas teared up before kissing him passionately, which he happily returned while the Elves (except those that came with Sylvanas), some of Arthas’ soldiers, and Kel’Thuzad looked on in shock while Jaina smiled at the sight.

When they broke apart, Sylvanas smiled at him, “I’m glad you’re here Arthas.” She stated not caring about the audience or the stories that came into the woods about what Arthas had done in his homeland or anywhere else since it didn’t matter, he was still her love and light and nothing he did would change that so long as he was himself.

“I’m glad to be here, Sylvanas, but right now we have business to handle which includes me and my soldiers getting into your city. It’s time for the magical corruption to end.” He stated since he and her had talked at length years ago about the Elves’ blatant addiction to the arcane power of the Sunwell and how eventually they’d risk tapping into it further to feed their addiction even more. He also warned that if the forest kept being saturated then the animals, other living creatures, and the trees themselves would become addicted to the magic and may become violent towards the Elves to get at the Sunwell for more direct access to the waters. Then there was the fact that the Elves had practically dared the Kirin Tor or anyone with magical power to try and study the well or try to taste the waters and many understood such a thing would mean war or death for the perpetrators.

Sylvanas widened her eyes before nodding, “I see, then I will help you anyway I can. Just please, don’t kill all my people, many of them support yours and I’s views and have been waiting for such a thing to occur.” She stated and Arthas smiled and cupped her cheek making her smile and lean into it.

“My dear, despite what rumors you may have heard, the only people I have killed are those that have been deserving of it. I have not and will not kill an innocent person if I can help it.” He stated before turning to the rest of the arrogant Elves, who were now glaring at Sylvanas and Arthas immediately flicked his fingers and they were executed quickly and cleanly while the others were left alone.

Arthas then turned to the remaining ones, “Join them and become the corrupted fools that the Sunwell has slowly been turning you into or join me and have the chance at peace and life.” Arthas stated holding Sylvanas to his side, much to her happiness, and saw that several nodded, “Good, for those worried, I will not harm Prince Kael’Thas, but your king will fall before me. He has drank from the waters too much and has become too consumed by his need for magical power.” Arthas stated relieving some of them as he fueled his power to his blade and aura washed over them changing them like his own Elven soldiers did.

The one exception was Sylvanas as her skin turned an almost midnight blue, her hair turn white, her eyes went blood red, and her armor took a more gothic and dark grey almost black appearance while accentuating her body even more (it’s her Banshee Queen appearance). All in all, she looked beautiful and deadly and just how he liked his women.

Sylvanas also seemed to enjoy the change since she now sported a sultry smirk and was pressing her body against him even more. Arthas smirked at her before ordering his people to begin setting the area up for their campaign and to have their forces ready to mobilize immediately. As his forces followed his orders, Jaina, Arthas, and Sylvanas slipped away with a pair of eyes following them with desire.

**_*****LEMON START*****_ **

As they reached a clearing, Jaina walked up to Sylvanas until both their breasts were pressing against each other before Jaina smiled and leaned into a kiss making Sylvanas moan and reciprocate as Jaina’s hands slid down Sylvanas’ back to her luscious ass and Sylvanas’ hands went to Jaina’s tits as the two moaned and made out knowing it would get Arthas going.

The two continued for a couple minutes before they broke apart, “Glad to see you again, Sylvanas.” Jaina stated since she had visited Arthas when he was here when they were younger and she and Sylvanas had made it an enjoyable visit for Arthas.

 **“Mmm, the feeling’s mutual Jaina.”** Sylvanas replied with her voice taking a darker tint as she kneaded Jaina’s tits. They then turned to Arthas, who was standing there with a smirk on his face, **“But I think I really need to get reacquainted with Arthas.”** She stated licking her lips making Jaina smirk.

“Of course, let me help you out of that armor.” Jaina replied as she began unclasping Sylvanas’ armor as she kissed her exposed flesh around her neck, torso, and legs making Sylvanas shiver in delight before Jaina began kissing her tits, pussy, and ass making her moan slightly before she felt Jaina behind her and kissing her neck as her left hand played with her breasts and her right hand went to her pussy, “Look at Arthas.” Jaina ordered and Sylvanas did only to feel her lust spike like mad as Arthas had removed his own armor and clothing while she was distracted and now she had a full view of his muscled, slightly scarred, body and his large dick that was awaiting her attention, “Do you want him?” Jaina asked and Sylvanas nodded as her pussy quivered in excitement, “Are you willing to share?” Jaina asked again and Sylvanas eagerly nodded, “Then go to him and I’ll join you after you’ve had some fun.” Jaina stated giving Sylvanas’ ass a slap making her eep before she went over to Arthas.

When she stood right in front of him, she began feeling shy as she was laid bare before his eyes and his power was intimidating to say the least and she would have moved to cover herself if Arthas hadn’t moved up to her and began running his hands on her sides while his thumbs flicked her breasts when they were near them making her mewl in pleasure. Arthas then moved his hands to her plump ass and began kneading it making her moan just before his lips claimed hers and his tongue battled and dominated her own.

Jaina smiled at the sight and was already stripping off her robes as the sight was making her hot and she was going to get her chance to live those fantasies she had in Northrend one way or another.

She broke from her musings at hearing Sylvanas moan and saw Arthas was now working his way down her neck and chest before giving her ample bust some attention which included him sucking and biting her nipples sending shockwaves of pleasure through her system. The one he wasn’t sucking on got his calloused and strong hands kneading them while her nipple was pulled, pinched, and twisted in varying degrees of pressure making her moan and mewl in pleasure. Arthas would continue this for a minute or so then switch nipples ensuring both got equal treatment.

After spending 10 minutes on her breasts, Arthas made her let out an eep when he lifted her so her pussy was at his face with her legs over his shoulders and he happily began licking at her folds as he kneaded her ass making Sylvanas pant, moan, and mewl in pleasure as she fought to ensure she wouldn’t scream out. That got harder as Arthas began to aim at her clit sending jolts of pleasure through her body and making her pussy release more fluid for Arthas to lap up.

Sylvanas was on cloud nine, or at least the Elven version of it, as she had never experienced something like this in her centuries of life and none of the few lovers she had over the time period had ever been like this, so attentive to her needs and desires. She then screamed as she came harder than she ever had before and splattered Arthas with her cum before he set her down and she sank to her knees quickly and began to stroke and lick his cock and balls.

Arthas groaned feeling her soft hands, even with the callouses she had, stroking his cock and balls while her warm wet tongue ran along the three sending pleasure through him while it seemed like she was trying to memorize the taste and outline of his cock with her tongue. He wasn’t complaining of course, but he did know with his two girls that he’d be getting a workout for his stamina and that was if there were no other Elves that wanted to join in their fun if Jaina and Sylvanas let them.

The only two he didn’t have to worry about were Sylvanas’ sisters Alleria and Vereesa since they viewed him as a brother figure when he and Sylvanas started out so they held no romantic feelings for him and the feeling was mutual.

Getting back to the more fun things, Arthas groaned as Sylvanas began to suck on his balls pulling them into her mouth before releasing them with an audible pop. She then dragged her tongue back up his cock and began licking and kissing the head before she began sucking on it.

Arthas groaned as he felt his cock begin to be surrounded by Sylvanas’ warm and wet mouth as she began sucking before Sylvanas screamed in surprise and he grit his teeth as the vibrations sent shockwaves through his body.

The reason for Sylvanas’ scream came in the form of Jaina coming up and she began licking Sylvanas’ pussy and ass while sucking and leaving hickeys on her ass cheeks. Jaina had no shame in doing this since she had done it before and wasn’t going to just stare at Sylvanas’ plump ass shaking in front of her and not do anything…. It also didn’t hurt that the process Arthas used to empower them had broken some of the inhibitions that they would typically have.

Sylvanas got over her shock and began to eagerly suck Arthas’ cock as he ran his hand through her hair making her hum in delight in addition to the moans she gave from Jaina’s ministrations. Arthas looked at his first love and smirked, “Couldn’t wait Jaina?” He asked with some teasing in his tone.

Jaina removed her tongue from Sylvanas’ pussy and smirked, “With this lovely ass facing me? How could I resist and just wait?” She asked back teasingly before she resumed licking making Sylvanas moan in pleasure and bliss.

It only took about five minutes for Arthas to groan as he was feeling his end nearing and Sylvanas seemed to understand and began sucking harder while kneading his balls before humming loudly to stimulate his cock. Arthas lost his bit of control and came in her waiting mouth making her scream in surprise as two shots went straight down her throat before she knew what happened and she pulled back to let the rest go to her mouth before she began swallowing it all.

Sylvanas then sucked hard as she slowly removed it from her mouth before releasing it with an audible POP and kissed the head before she found herself on her back, legs spread wide, and Arthas looming over her with a lustful predatory gaze aimed at her that made her shiver with desire and need.

Knowing he would question if she was ready, she quickly grabbed his cock and aimed it right at her now soaking pussy before nodding and Arthas pushed in making both groan as Arthas found incredibly tight and Sylvanas felt him stretching her pussy to fit his cock since it had been a few years since they had done this.

Sylvanas quickly bucked her hips getting her lover to begin thrusting into her causing her to moan as his cock plunged into her as her pussy stretched to fit it. She then moaned more as Arthas leaned down and kissed her and she happily submitted to and returned it as his tongue played with hers. The moans only got louder as Arthas began picking up the pace and the intensity of his thrusts while her breasts were grinding against his chest stimulating her nipples.

When Arthas pulled back and grabbed her hips to slam into her even harder, Jaina moved up and kissed Sylvanas making said Elf moan as she was fucked and kissed by two of the most important people in her life, that weren’t related to her. It was even more enjoyable as Jaina began playing with her breasts and Sylvanas reciprocated by playing with Jaina’s.

Both women moaned into their make out session as the other played with their breasts as Arthas fucked Sylvanas hard and fast like she enjoyed giving her more pleasure on top of what Jaina was giving her. It got even more intense as Arthas moved one of his hands and began stimulating her clit pushing her into an Earth shattering orgasm as Arthas continued to thrust into her.

Sylvanas continued to ride her orgasmic high for what felt like hours before Arthas began to speed up again signaling his own release was imminent and she quickly wrapped her legs around him to ensure he couldn’t pull out before Jaina moved and Sylvanas was pulled up onto Arthas’ lap where he seemed to reach even deeper as it felt like he was inside her womb and she was moaning and enjoying herself, **“More Arthas, cum inside me. Fill me to the brim with your seed and never stop doing it.”** Sylvanas moaned and the extra verbal stimulation pushed Arthas over the edge and he came inside her making her scream before Arthas took her into a passionate kiss as both rode out their orgasm to its fullest.

**_*****LEMON END*****_ **

As Sylvanas came down, she felt nothing but bliss and happiness at feeling her lover’s cum inside and she was perfectly content until Jaina came up and grabbed her tits, “Oh, we’re not done yet, Sylvanas, we’ve both been wanting this for too long to just let you go after one round.” She stated with a smile and Sylvanas felt a sense of anticipation mixed with slight fear as she was flipped over and their fun continued.

**_An hour later_ **

Sylvanas, Arthas, and Jaina walked back into the base finding several more Elves among their forces while several more Ghouls and Skeletons were there as well. A noticeable change was that Sylvanas had a new bow and quiver on her back and two blades on her hips. The bow was black with red veins going through it and the string was a mixture of black and white while two large teeth/claws were on the end of the bow. The quiver was black leather and seemed to have a small glow around it while having several arrows in it.

The two blades were another matter entirely: the one on her left hip, meaning for her right hand, was a larger than average dagger, at least 2 feet on the blade alone, that was a recurved Bowie with a silver edged blade, shark tooth serrations on the back end, a Crossguard made of ivory with black veins in it, a grooved handle that seemed made to fit her slender fingers, and a golden cross pommel. The second was a knife that was a single edged with a foot long, red edged, black blade; the blade was a straight backed kukri with serrations at the bottom of the blade just above the handguard; the handguard was a set of brass knuckles with spikes on them with the same grooved handle inside as the dagger; and the pommel was a black skull with putrid green eyes that seemed to glow. The first seemed to give off a calming aura while the other screamed death and pain.

All in all, the items looked well made and dangerous and Muradin and Uther had a feeling they knew where she got them, but that could be discussed away from prying eyes and ears.

As the trio rejoined the camp, Uther and Muradin informed them that after breaking through a set of trees they had ransacked a small Elven village and recruited a few more Elves while the rest were slain. They also explained that they encountered a Gnoll camp, but rather than attacking their group, the Gnolls asked for the leader of the group so they would have a pack leader again.

Arthas was confused before he realized the Gnolls must be the ones he spared outside Strahnbrad, Steelsnout’s tribe if he correctly recalled the leader he killed. Knowing that extra troops were always helpful, Arthas spoke up, “Show me.” He ordered and Uther nodded before Arthas’ small elite group walked down an upper path from his base, though Arthas noticed a female Elf following them, and came upon the Gnoll camp and upon seeing him, the Gnolls all bowed and beat their chests, “You are of Steelsnout’s tribe, are you not?” Arthas asked getting nods and howls of agreement.

 **“We’s be from that tribe, yes. We’s be sensing you coming to the forest, we’s be wanting to join you since you beat Steelsnout. We’s has multiple bands throughout these woods and we’s ready to attack Elves when ordered.”** A Gnoll Trapper stated as he looked at Arthas and spoke broken Common.

“Very well, I will accept your tribe into my growing forces but there will be no conflict between you and my other soldiers, is that clear?” Arthas ordered and the Gnolls nodded in acceptance, “Good, gather your forces but if you run into any of the Elves of this forest capture them and bring them back to my base. Some of them are willing to join me and I won’t have you killing potential soldiers or subjects.” He stated the Gnolls acknowledged the orders before a pair of Gnoll Hunters brought a chest up.

 **“We’s take this from a merchant caravan that was attacked by Ogres, dumb things not know there more than just food in caravan. We’s bring it here as tribute.”** The Trapper stated as the Hunters set the chest down and stepped back.

Arthas nodded and dispersed the camp making the Gnolls move through the tress to find their clansmen/pack and bring them to their new leader. Arthas opened the chest and found it had several items in it. Most of it was junk but there were a few things of interest **(A/N: These items are described as they are in the RPG not the Reign of Chaos game)** : First what looked like a ball of pure lightning that was contained in a sphere of magic; an old wooden staff with a golden crescent styled E with a blue gem at the middle bracket; a medallion that had a 4-pointed star on a field of blue and hung around the neck on a red-and-yellow ribbon; a blood-red hood that fastened around the wearer's neck with a simple silver clasp and the fabric's edges were decorated with a shimmering gilded weave; and a hemispherical disk that seemed sturdy and solid while the translucent surface appeared to swirl and dance with vibrant colors.

Arthas knew what these items were: An Orb of Lightning, a Staff of Teleportation, a Medallion of Courage, a Hood of Cunning, and am Amulet of Spell Shield respectfully. Each item would help him and his closest allies which was why he tossed the staff to Jaina, the medallion to Uther, the amulet to Muradin, and the hood to Sylvanas while he took the Orb. Muradin, Sylvanas, and Uther took the item and wore it while Jaina combined hers to her to staff absorbing the power while Arthas gained another orb floating around his hand.

For those not in the know, an Orb of Lightning not only disables magical enhancements when an attack hits an enemy, but also makes attacks become ranged as the attacks can send out blasts of lightning. The Staff of Teleportation is a bit self-explanatory, but rather than a large group it allowed the user to teleport themselves to a location or teleport a person to their location. The Medallion of Courage helped the mind and body at the same time by increasing strength while also helping keep the mind clear with the added benefit of adding to their mana supply. The Hood of Cunning naturally increased one’s agility and had the same effect on the mind as the Medallion of Courage. The Amulet of Spell Shield was pretty much self-explanatory as it would block a harmful spell aimed at the wearer, but depending on the strength of the spell there was a wait time between when the amulet would protect the wearer again.

After that was finished, Arthas had some Acolytes create a forward camp on the small village’s location and began fortifying it while his forces began pressing in more and more. There was some resistance as a portion of the Ranger Corps that Sylvanas led were more loyal to the king than to Sylvanas but nothing that could pose too much of a threat to Arthas’ highly trained and improved soldiers and it got easier as some of his Elves took up the ballistae that were left in each populated area they took and it was even easier due to the Ghouls and Skeletons took the brunt of the attacks.

Within an hour they had pressed onto the area just outside the first Elven gate with a few dozen Elves joining them along the way and a large army of Ghouls and Skeletons ready to be unleashed on their enemies. Arthas had already made the Ghouls useful by deforesting a chunk of area to have fresh lumber and the fact it was practically planted, fed, grown, and watered with/in magic meant it was very durable and useful for future projects and investments.

Now they were preparing to march on the first gate with the Skeletons and Ghouls leading the fight which was why Arthas and his close allies were standing on a hill watching as the Skeletons and Ghouls rushed in and began tearing through the defenses, “Shindu fallah Na! (They're breaking through!) Fall back to the second gate! Fall back!” One of the Ranger Lieutenants, an Elf with long red hair and a chiseled face with a scar down his right eye, shouted as he and a few others that wouldn’t follow Sylvanas fell back past the gates.

Rather than just rush in, Arthas halted their advance, “I want defenses and structures placed here as a forward base. I want as little chance as possible of there being escapees as we push in farther.” Arthas ordered and his soldiers nodded and began clearing the area as his Acolytes called even more structures to both guard and corrupt the area.

When the base was fully summoned, Arthas and his forces pushed in and began sweeping through the lesser gates.

Upon breaching the last, his Ghouls and Skeletons rushed through killing the defending Elves while the Lieutenant fell back to the main bridge, “Fall back to the trees!” He shouted as the Elves fell back. Arthas approached the bridge with Frostmourne ready, “You may have gotten through the first gate, bastard, but you won’t make it through the second. The only way through is with a special key which we’ve shattered.” The Lieutenant stated arrogantly making Arthas sweat drop as he wondered why the hell he would even tell him that, now Arthas knows he needs a key and that it is in pieces and Sylvanas probably wouldn’t have been able to tell him the latter part.

“You waste your time fool, you can’t outrun death.” Arthas stated as he approached the bridge and the Lieutenant smirked making Arthas pause before he decided to cut to the chase and launched a **Death Coil** at the man making him widen his eyes before it struck him making him scream in pain before he died.

However, before Arthas could enjoy the death of an annoyance, the bridge suddenly exploded sinking it into the river and ruining the fastest route through this section of woods, “Dammit! Scout the area and find us another way through.” Arthas ordered as the Ghouls and Skeletons spread out while Arthas rejoined his commanders before they heard noises and saw several Crypt Fiends came up.

 **“Greetings Death Knight.”** The lead Fiend stated as they came up, **“Our King, Anub’arak, sent us to aid you and ensure that no enemies of the air get in your way.”** It continued as the Fiends joined the ranks and they moved in on a small settlement area of Elves and quickly wiped them out before the Acolytes began summoning buildings.

However, they were interrupted by Dragonhawk Riders, who were quickly and literally brought down by the Crypt Fiends as they unleashed sticky webbing that made impossible for the Dragonhawks to fly and sending them crashing down on the ground or a few went into the river and drowned.

With the would be attackers dealt with, Arthas and his soldiers constructed yet another forward base and began scouting the area till they found a strange sight: a small group of Water Elementals. Arthas and his band approached them as his Acolytes began summoning Ziggurats and then upgrading them to Spirit Towers for defenses.

They watched as the Elementals approached the river before one glowed and dispersed causing the river to rise up and make a bridge for the Elementals to cross. The group blinked at what they saw and blinked a few more times before Arthas idly commented, “You ever get the feeling someone is just controlling things to make this life more interesting?” Arthas asked casually while his commanders all sounded off in the positive before Jaina summoned her own Water Elemental and it moved to the edge of the river where it glowed before dispersing creating a bridge for Arthas and he quickly sent his Ghouls and Skeletons across before sending the Crypt Fiends, then his warriors and commanders crossed with him, and then the Meat Wagons. Arthas idly noticed that the river had been poisoned slightly from the Ghouls and Skeletons making contact with the water bridge since the water went back to the river after they crossed.

Said Skeletons and Ghouls and immediately charged on the Elven base that was supported by the Water Elementals while the Meat Wagons fired on the towers and defenses and the Crypt Fiends brought down their flying units with the Necromancers summoning more Skeletons for each Elf and Crypt Fiend that fell while Arthas’ warriors did mop up.

While his army slaughtered the Elven defenders, with a few still turning to his side, Arthas approached an alter with a glowing blue crystal and picked it up, **“That moon crystal is one of three needed to make the Key of the Three Moons which opens the second Elf gate.”** Kel’Thuzad stated to Arthas, who pocketed the crystal and grabbed what looked like a wand off the alter before he moved farther in.

Arthas rejoined his group and gave Jaina the wand and she joined it to her staff before the Ghouls and Skeletons showed they found a Waygate that Sylvanas informed led to the middle island which connected to the other bases via more Waygates. Arthas sent the Ghouls and Skeletons through the first gate, which were now bolstered thanks to the Necromancers summoning more from the vast supply of fresh corpses available and Jaina using her Rod of Necromancy powers to summon more skeletons when she was able to. Arthas then had the Meat Wagons go to the edge of the river and fire across on the fortifications of the second Elf Gate to ensure they had little resistance when they got the other two crystals.

Muradin, Uther, Falric, Marwyn, and Rane went forward with his personal forces to supervise the simple creatures and gain any Elven supporters that may have been there. While they did that, Arthas, Jaina, and Sylvanas decided to have a chat with the Elf that had been following them.

Said Elf was a busty dark skinned Elf with pale lavender hair wearing a black corset with a black hide duster coat that was flared back and held with three gold clasps just under her breasts with red pauldrons with gold accents that were connected across her back and went around to cup her breasts, black elbow length fingerless gloves with bracers that matched her pauldrons, black stockings that went just under her ass that went down her legs into heeled armored boots that went halfway up her calf, a simple black belt choker, and on her waist were a pair of recurved Persian daggers that had gold cross guards above the black broadsword style handles. All in all, she looked sexy and deadly and her aura screamed assassin and Rogue.

Currently, the woman was trying hard not to shift under the gaze of the powerful individuals staring at her, “Why have you been so insistent on following us?” Arthas asked and the woman blushed slightly and looked away.

“I’m sorry my lord, I’m drawn to you for some reason. I… I wish to serve you… both in your bed and as a warrior.” She stated trying to control herself as it was hard to face him since it felt like something was drawing her to him, “I… I know you are a noble and the rightful ruler of the Human kingdom and… and thus you can have concubines as well as wives… I would never suggest being your wife, but I would happily accept being your concubine.” The woman continued surprising the three since some women found it an honorable position, mainly for the perks that came with it, but many who prided themselves on being strong and capable in combat didn’t.

“I see.” Arthas stated a bit unsure how to handle this, “I can’t guarantee anything right now about being my concubine.” He stated and the woman nodded.

“I-I understand my lord, can… can I at least be assigned as your guard?” She asked hopefully as she couldn’t make eye contact with him.

Arthas quirked an eyebrow before looking to Sylvanas and Jaina and the two nodded, “Very well, we will try this for now but do not make me regret this.” Arthas stated and the Elf smiled in joy and saluted, “Now, what’s your name?” He asked and she blushed in embarrassment at not telling him her name yet.

“My name is Serafina, my lord.” The now named Serafina stated as she bowed before Arthas turned and walked towards the Waygate with Sylvanas and Jaina beside him and Serafina following closely behind with a smile on her face.

The group of four crossed through the gate to find several Ghoul bodies across the ground showing the Elves put up a decent resistance and a few Ghouls were feasting on their fallen comrades to heal their wounds. Arthas merely walked past it as a Necromancer idly commented that Uther and Muradin had led the Ghouls and Skeletons through the other two Waygates and were now assaulting the other two Elven bases.

Arthas merely grunted and explored the small island and found a thin spot of the river directly north of his base and frowned before taking his hammer and slammed it into a few trees causing them to topple over. He then used his enhanced strength to move them into a makeshift bridge five across and his Acolytes quickly crossed and began summoning buildings near the Waygates to fortify the position better.

After that, Muradin and Uther returned with a larger horde of Skeletons and Ghouls and handed Arthas a green and red crystal respectfully. With three crystals then glowed and combined into an amulet like item and Arthas approached end of the middle island and frowned before seeing several of his Ghouls were weak, “You, form a bridge to let us cross.” Arthas ordered and Ghouls began scrambling before some began digging claws into the ground while others began interconnecting themselves until a five layer thick bridge was formed and Arthas sent the rest of his Ghouls and Skeletons across and they began attacking the defenders and the towers they had set up.

The Meat Wagons then crossed and began attacking the towers that the Ghouls and Skeletons couldn’t reach while the Necromancers summoned more Skeletons from the bodies of the defenders.

Arthas then walked forward through the carnage and caught an Elf that attempted an attack before throwing him to the Ghouls and went to the gate placing the Key of the Three Moons into the slot and twisting it causing several clicks to be heard before the gate glowed and opened, “Come my warriors, the end of Silvermoon is at hand.” Arthas stated as his forces pressed further in the kingdom of the Elves.

**DONE! Next time will end Quel’Thalas and some other things.**

**I know some of you were chomping at the bit hoping Arthas would just blink across the river and destroy everyone himself, but I decided against that since Arthas is going to have a few of those kinds of moments in the future already and I couldn’t see him doing that and not getting chewed out by Jaina and the others when they had no way to get across and I didn’t want to do the Goblins just happen to be there and have Zeppelins that Arthas could requisition to use.**

**Anyway, give names and Items of any women you want to see in this and you don’t only have to give women for Arthas.**

**Just in case someone asked how Arthas had a relationship with Sylvanas: in canon he stated he was in Quel’Thalas as a boy, now that could be up for interpretation on just what Arthas considered as “a boy” when he was in his mid-late twenties or maybe even early thirties in canon.**

**For those wondering, Serafina is a Dark Elf from the hentai Himekishi Angelica**

**Well, that’s it, see you next time.**


	8. Fall of Silvermoon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gates have fallen, now it's time for the City to fall

**Hello everyone and welcome back.** **Anyway, this will cover Silvermoon being defeated and some filler between it and Arthas marching on the Blackrock Clan.**

**Also, I’m debating on splitting this fic into two parts: Part 1 would be Reign of Chaos and Frozen Throne and then Part 2 would be World of Warcraft occurring. Nothing concrete, just debating on it as there would be a decently sized time-skip between Frozen Throne and World of Warcraft.**

**LAST TIME NOTICE: Weapon descriptions in this are for you guys, it is not how the people in this story would describe them. So if I mention a Kukri or a Templar Sword, then it’s so you can picture what the weapon looks like better than me butchering a true description.**

**Now, let’s get to what y’all are all here for.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, see previous chapters**

(Author’s Notes)

“Speech”

_“Thoughts”_

_‘Language other than common’_

_(Mental conversations)_

**“Non-Humanoid (Demons, spirits, etc. etc.) speech”**

**_“Above’s thoughts”_ **

**_‘Above’s speech in other language’_ **

**_(Mental conversations)_ **

**Spell Names**

**Chapter 8: Fall of Silvermoon**

**_Quel’Thalas: Arthas’ forward basecamp_ **

Arthas looked over his forward camp nestled not more than a mile from the walls of Silvermoon as they prepared for the final attack. Luckily enough, the city had not been made aware of his army’s march nor the carnage they had wrought so far. Sylvanas believed the fools that stood against them in the early stages were too prideful to call for help and raise the alarm. Arthas wasn’t going to complain though, if the fools wanted to try and fight his forces on their own then they could do so.

However, he did have several Shades watching to ensure none of them could run and alert Silvermoon. While his forces could handle them no doubt, it would make it harder to surround and attack the city from all sides if they were being aggressive as well. Tactically, it was better to leave them ignorant to their impending doom than let them prepare and fight.

His attention was then drawn to Sylvanas’ gear that had been given to them for her and Arthas had given the items to her after their… fun with Jaina in the woods. Arthas idly recalled the information Sylvanas received: _Sylvanas Windrunner, I am glad you have not succumbed to the folly and idiocy of your race has begun to show in great detail and number over the past few decades. Who I am I will leave to Arthas to explain as I am sure he will tell you about me later on. As to why I am doing this, just believe that it is necessary both for Arthas’ sake and the world’s._

_I know fully well you have seen the fall of your people over the past few centuries, and I’m sure you could see where this would lead if Arthas hadn’t started his march. Your king was becoming more and more power hungry and ambitious to the point that in a few months’ time he would have marched and taken the southern border lands and started a war within the Alliance controller territories paving way for the demons and other entities to take advantage and claim lands and lives until they were unstoppable. Arthas’ march has now stopped that due to the king losing followers, both to death and desertion, and the fact he has not had time to prepare a proper military formation and defense._

_Regardless, you are important to Arthas and thus enclosed in the bundle are some items to ensure you can fight, survive, and aid Arthas._

That had been Sylvanas’ note to her which then led to Sylvanas, Jaina, and Arthas discussing Damon before Sylvanas then opened the bundle, _The Heart Piercer: Crafted from blessed petrified Ebony, Black Drake Heartstrings, Deathweb Spider Silk, and Nightstalker fangs. This bow can pierce the hide of a Highborne Dragon and the bladed tips can pierce plate with ease. This bow will serve you well and will ensure that every shot strikes true no matter the range or target, it merely depends on what YOU are aiming for. It is also receptable to any magic you channel into it and thus allow it to funnel the power into your arrows regardless of the type of arrow or magic._

_The Deathblades (Shine is the Dagger and Shadow is the Knife): Two blades forged from the heated core of an Abyssal and cooled in Hydra venom with the dagger being imbued with holy water and the knife being imbued with demon blood. The blades are fast, accurate, and always strike true at a lethal point. Shine will heal an ally or severely harm a demon or Undead while Shadow will poison and curse an enemy regardless of alignment and can launch a Shadowbolt after claiming five lives. The blades are picky on who it is that will wield them, so treat them with respect and they will never fail you._

_Quiver of Plenty: Hardened Drake skin quiver enchanted so that it reproduces any type of arrow put into it and will continue to do so as long as there is at least one arrow in it. It is recommended for you to hold an assortment of arrows for a variety of situations and uses so you will always be prepared. Also, do not worry about damage to it, it would take someone of Arthas’ caliber to damage it._

_These scrolls will engrave runes on your chest, this will NOT hurt, and they are permanent no matter what happens. The first will increase your accuracy with your bow turning you into the deadliest archer to exist. The second increases your minions’ power and durability. The third increases your agility and your comfortability with knives and bows. The fourth will increase your spell powers and control over them. The fifth will empower your body; becoming stronger, faster, more agile, smarter, becoming immune to poisons and toxins as encountered, and faster at analyzing a situation. The last one is important, will make it so any weapon wielded will be locked on to the user so it will return if thrown or lost._

_These potions are permanent and will not be removed no matter the number of potions outside this bundle are consumed and these will not interfere with each other. Blue will increase magical power to that of an adept and your powers grow the more magic you use. Red is a concoction that will permanently allow your body to heal minor wounds while stopping some of the more serious ones from becoming too life threatening while also making it so the more you fight, the better at fighting you’ll get. Silver will increase movement and attack speed. Black will increase your fighting ability and destructive spells and abilities. White increases your beneficial spells and the auras you will generate. Note, the red one does not make you unkillable as Arthas can testify to, it merely makes it harder to kill you._

Sylvanas then drank her potions before having him and Jaina help use the scrolls on her and then they rejoined the group and started the first push into Quel’Thalas.

Arthas then turned his head as Tichondrius appeared, **“You’ve done well… so far. Now your true test lies before you, little Human.”** Tichondrius stated with his arrogant and superior tone that made each of Arthas’ commanders have to restrain themselves from running him through right then and there.

Arthas however was impassive towards him, “I was wondering when you'd show up.” Arthas stated as he looked at him in boredom.

Tichondrius merely snarled at the disrespect in Arthas’ voice, **“I am here to ensure that you do your job, whelp. Not do it for you.”** Tichondrius growled out and Arthas merely glanced at him

Arthas merely scoffed, “I will reach the Sunwell on my own, Dreadlord. I need no help from some demon.” Arthas stated making Tichondrius growl.

Tichondrius then schooled himself since he still needed the mortal regardless of his personal feelings on the matter, **“Be warned: It is a pool of mystical energy from which the Elves draw their immortal and arcane powers. They will not give it up so easily.”** Tichondrius stated before teleporting away.

Arthas merely scoffed at the notion, “Tell me something I didn’t already know, fool.” Arthas then turned towards the spirit of Kel’Thuzad, “Do you think that he suspects that you've been aiding me, necromancer?” Arthas asked knowing it was indeed possible.

Kel'Thuzad merely chuckled, **“I'm sure he suspects quite a bit. It is his nature to assume the worst and prepare for it so his master will not punish him for failure. Now steel yourself, the hour of my rebirth draws near.”** Kel’Thuzad stated before Arthas approached his scouts.

“Lord Arthas, the remains of the Elven Rangers have set up a base to our right flank. No doubt they will send runners to Silvermoon to warn them and ask for reinforcements.” A Necromancer stated urgently.

“Then watch the roads for any signs of them. They can’t use the trees since Silvermoon has barricaded and enchanted walls, the only way in is the main roads and gates.” Arthas ordered making the Necromancer nod before he moved to send out Shades for further surveillance.

Arthas then leaned to the side to dodge an arrow and saw more of the loyalist rangers coming at them, “Did you forget about us, you wretches?” One of them shouted as they charged the camp only for Arthas to wave his fingers and ice spears rained down on them skewering them instantly curtesy of Jaina.  
Arthas then waved his hand and they rose up as drones, mindless and weak undead but good for cannon fodder and mobbing enemies. Even skeletons were more effective than the drones were, but why waste usable and functional troops when he could wear down the defenses with the weak and useless cannon fodder?

Kel’Thuzad then chuckled, **“Well, the Elves are nothing but tenacious. They remind me of you, Death Knight.”** Kel’Thuzad stated and Arthas snorted.

“Unlike them however, I still technically won in the end.” Arthas stated as he merely moved the drones to group with the rest that he had his Necromancers revive from the other Elves that they had killed. Arthas had promised his loyal Elves that after the campaign, he would banish the magic from them and allow them to be buried with the rights of the Elves. Till then however, they were serving as his prepared cannon fodder for when it was time to attack Silvermoon, but first they needed to handle those annoying rangers.

However, a Necromancer came up, “Lord Arthas, the rangers have sent a runner to Silvermoon!” He said urgently as the Shades showed the runner moving towards the city, though Arthas questioned the rangers’ intelligence since why not give him a Dragonhawk to get there faster? Why not give him an escort? Why make him run on the open road when enemies were all over the place?

“Doesn’t matter, the Gargoyles that arrived from Northrend will see to it that none of them make it far enough.” Arthas stated and sure enough the Gargoyles swooped down and grabbed the runner before tearing him apart and feasting on the remains.

With that handled, Arthas turned towards his commanders and brought out the map, “Alright, Jaina and I will attack from their west flank; Muradin, Sylvanas, and Uther will cross the middle bridge and clear out the islet before Muradin and Uther push into their camp from the north; and Sylvanas and her group will cross the islet and come around to cut off their escapers the East and ensure they can’t hide among the trees. Once the rangers are down, we can split our forces to strike Silvermoon at both main entrances and end this stage of the campaign once and for all.” Arthas stated making them nod since the rangers would be focused on Arthas over anything else giving the others ample time to get into position and complete the pincer movement.

Separating, his commanders began getting their forces prepared while Serafina stayed with Arthas and Jaina. Arthas then had his remaining forces prepare themselves for the assault on Silvermoon and to kill any scouts before they could report back to the city before he and his small band moved to attack the Ranger camp.

Arthas and Jaina were at the front with Marwyn and Serafina flanking them followed by their soldiers. One more annoyance to crush and then they could finish the campaign and get some answers from the Necromancer. Answers they knew they needed to fully implement different plans to crush their enemies and end the demonic threats… or so they hoped.

There was a nagging feeling in the back of their minds that there was still a LOT more fighting and threats to deal with before any form of peace and relaxation could occur. However, given the times they were raised in, they were prepared and were ready to fight if even to get scattered days of relaxation.

Some was better than none after all.

Shaking those thoughts away, Arthas and Jaina marched on the Ranger outpost and Arthas started off the fun with throwing Light’s Vengeance, which was also called Death’s Embrace by his forces, at one of the buildings letting it smash through the building and setting it on fire. This caused the defenders to rush them, only for a large group to be killed by falling ice spears and then another by archers that were with Arthas.

Once the volley of arrows finished, Arthas moved forward to meet them and began cutting down different enemies while Jaina supported him and Serafina stayed beside Jaina to ensure no one got too close to her. Jaina was a powerful sorceress, but it only took one lucky hit to bring you down regardless of how strong you were. Serafina had no intention of letting any of her former brethren get a shot at her mistress no matter how many tried.

As Arthas and his group began to push back the defenders, more arrived making it a stalemate… until Muradin and Uther’s group came in and caught them between their buildings and their forces with Arthas’ forces baring down on them too. “Stand strong men! We can’t let these monsters stop us from protecting the lands and Silvermoon!” One of the higher ranked Rangers shouted as he kept fighting to keep the attackers at bay.

Not that it was easy, mind you.

It didn’t help that as their forces fell, Arthas and the Necromancers would raise them up as ghouls, skeletons, and zombies to fight against their former kin and comrades. Plus they were losing room to fall back with even as some animals nearby came to help them. It also didn’t help that some of the attackers were their own former comrades that betrayed them and thus knew how they fought and had they defended against incoming threats.

However, as the fighting progressed, the writing was on the wall and one of the commanders ordered a contingent to retreat and warn Silvermoon. Knowing the situation was dire, this caused a band of ten rangers and a couple Dragonhawk riders to break away and flee through the eastern side and flee down the path to Silvermoon. They knew their comrades and friends wouldn’t survive, but it was their duty to sacrifice their lives to protect Silvermoon above all else and as such, their comrades would cut down as many enemies as they could to give Silvermoon more time to get forces rallied and strike back.

However, the fleeing contingent was in for a shock as Sylvanas’ group came and cut them off keeping them from falling back into the trees and trying guerilla warfare or hiding to go back to Silvermoon. The Dragonhawks quickly tried to fly away and get to Silvermoon, but the archers with Sylvanas were too skilled and the Dragonhawks were punctured by dozens of arrows causing them to crash into the rangers or the nearby river. The few close range fighters in Sylvanas’ group cut down the rest of them before moving to flank the rest of the Rangers.

As everyone was fighting, Arthas stood in front of the leader of the Ranger corps after Sylvanas’ desertion, “I salute your bravery and tenacity, Elf, but the chase is over and your time has come.” Arthas stated and the woman before him scowled deeply.

“Then I will proudly make my stand here, butcher, like that witch Sylvanas should have done with us! _Anar’alah belor_.” The woman stated making Arthas frown at the insult aimed at Sylvanas.

“Not even the light of the sun will help you.” Arthas stated as he swung Frostmourne at her and she tried to block with a small pair of blades only to realize the mistake in doing that as Arthas’ physical strength vastly outclassed hers and she was forced to her knees. She was then sent back curtesy of Arthas’ armored boot slamming into her face.

As she tried to get up, Arthas struck and cut deep into her side making her shout in pain as she laid there clutching her side as Arthas stood over her. “Finish it then… I at least went down fighting and not like the cowards that lie in the city. I told them for months we needed more rangers out here and I was left with next to nothing. My own only consolation is that the same fools were die too.” The woman snarled hating that so many within the city were lazy weak things instead of proud warrior elves.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to fight more.” Arthas stated with a smirk making her frown in confusion before they widened in horror as a Banshee came towards her.

“No! I refuse to become a puppet! No, no, NOOOOO!” She stated and screamed frantically as she tried to raise a blade to stab herself only for the Banshee to rush forward and enter her body making her scream and begin to convulse on the ground as the Banshee claimed her.

Arthas merely smirked and let her writhe on the ground as his forces kept pressing the attack against the remaining Rangers and any allies they had.

Then, she suddenly stopped and lied there a long moment before she stood. As she opened her eyes, they showed her now golden eyes combined with a sultry smile, “Hello my lord.” She stated in a different voice than before and her hair had a greenish color to it now and her skin tanned a bit. She then looked down at her clothes and frowned before tossing aside the cloak she was wearing leaving her in just a bra like breastplate and form fitting leather pants with heeled boots. “Hmm, not quite my style, but it will do for now.” The woman stated with a slight frown before smiling flirtatiously at Arthas, “Unless my lord and master would prefer I wear nothing at all.” The woman stated dragging her fingers along her chest and between her impressive bust.

Arthas merely chuckled amused at his odd sense of luck that he was gaining women that wanted his attention in some specific ways, “You’re fine clothed, we do still have a fight to do after all.” Arthas stated making her pout but she still nodded, “I didn’t catch your name.” Arthas and the woman smiled as she pressed her tits out towards him.

“You can call me, Echidna, my lord.” The now named Echidna stated with a seductive smile.

“A pleasure, now let’s get back to work.” Arthas stated making her nod as she took a sword from near her and followed Arthas into combat intent on showing her lord what she could do with her new body.

It wasn’t long before the encampment was destroyed and the Rangers all killed off. Of course, they didn’t stay dead as Arthas brought them back as cannon fodder to use against Silvermoon. Granted, some of his own warriors fell too, but such a thing was inevitable and he brought them back as cannon fodder as well since he’d release them after they finished with the High Elven city. It was a way for his warriors get another shot at their enemies before leaving this world permanently since not all of his warriors wanted to be brought back if they fell..

Plus, with some of the suspicions that Arthas had, he didn’t want any of his warriors being used as puppets by the Dreadlord or his masters. Arthas didn’t believe for one minute that the Dreadlord intended for Arthas to keep command of the entire Scourge, but when the time came the Dreadlord would realize the Undead belonged to him and would obey him over all others. However, when the fool of a demon did realize this, Arthas would be shoving his sword through his black heart.

He could kill him now, of course, but that would tip his hand to the demon’s masters and cause further problems for them. Arthas needed his opponents blind to his movements and unable to figure out what he was going to do to remove them all until it was too late to stop him. Like now with Silvermoon, there was no one to warn them, no one to get the defenses activated, and no one to get troops mobilized until his forces were marching on the city walls. Walls that would crumble and burn with the city and their precious Sunwell would be tainted and ruined for all time.

Arthas made a mental note to take some of the water _before_ he dumped the Necromancer’s remains into the waters. No sense letting that magical power go to waste when they could keep it for emergencies and get some added power in the process. Hell, even the contaminated water could serve a useful purpose to them and better to have it and not need it, then have a need for it and not have it.

Shaking those thoughts away for the moment Arthas grouped up with his commanders, “All right, Uther; you, Muradin, and Falric will take these Undead and your portions of our forces and stay just out of sight of the southern gate and collect the Gargoyles along the way. Me, Sylvanas, Marwyn, and Jaina will head back to the base and have the majority of our Undead march on the western gate with the Meat Wagons providing support. We’ll launch a flare when we’ve pushed through the gate, then you’ll both launch your hammers through the southern gate and send the Undead in to start clearing the way for you to lead your forces in. We’ll meet up in the middle and then head for the Sunwell.” Arthas stated making them all nod since why endanger their main forces right off the bat when the mindless Undead were expendable. Especially since the more flesh covered ones could be brought back as skeletal warriors or magi.

No better to use cannon fodder and expendable forces over their loyal and dependable forces. Good men and women that were loyal and competent were hard to come by nowadays, better to hold off on losing as many of them as they could.

Sure, there was an argument to turn his warriors into higher grade undead, which is what Echidna was classified as since she could possess a body that was to her liking and become a new living being. However, only women could become Banshees, Arthas didn’t understand it but it was just how the magic worked for whatever reason. Death Knights could be either gender, same with Necromancers, but Banshees for some reason could only be females and Liches could only be males.

To the point though, while some of his warriors were capable of being turned into upper tier undead not all of them were capable or really suited to be those undead for one reason or another. Plus, some of his warriors when they died wanted to just pass on not continue to fight and wage war. It was nothing against Arthas, they just didn’t want an eternal life of fighting and living as a soldier, which Arthas understood entirely. Many joined the military to be given a purpose or earn income to support their families, not because they truly enjoyed being a soldier and then there was wanting to be with any family that passed on as well.

Now, that didn’t mean all of his warriors were like that, Falric and Marwyn were chief examples of that. Their whole life was serving in the military and protecting Arthas, they knew no other professions or real skill sets. They were dedicated and loyal to Arthas and serving as soldiers, but they knew how to relax as well and Falric already had Rane and Marwyn would find his own lover when time or the Light permitted. Uther was the same way, he was already pushing into his late 50s early 60s and was still the greatest of paladins and ready to serve.

Arthas wouldn’t be the man he was today if not for those three men all contributing in some way and being there for him when he needed it most. Arthas fully intended to return that loyalty in full and if a time came that they didn’t want to serve anymore, Arthas would let them retire in peace.

Right now though, they still had several battles to fight and people to kill and Arthas needed all hands on deck for them.

Breaking from those thoughts, Arthas nodded to the others before he, Jaina, Marwyn, and their contingent left to prepare the undead horde to be unleashed. He and Jaina also noticed Serafina giving a mild glare at Echidna, no doubt at her trying to be close to Arthas which was also Serafina’s goal. The two could only chuckle as they made their way back and began mobilizing the undead forces, “Lord Arthas, how should we proceed?” One of the Necromancers asked as they were preparing to march on the bridge and their Lord hadn’t led them astray so far.

“Send the Ghouls and skeletons across first, they are fast enough that they should be able to start to breach the defenses before they can fully activate. Send the Abominations in next and then send the drones and zombies forward with the Meat Wagons, they’re slower but the zombies and drones will take a lot of the hits and let the wagons fire on the towers and defenses easier. Hold off on the Gargoyles, Crypt Fiends, Necromancers, and Banshees going until the first line of defenses have been destroyed.” Arthas ordered making the Necromancer nod as he gave the order and the skeletons and Ghouls rushed forward across the bridge with the first few getting struck my magic, glaives, and arrows and the rest got inside the gate just as it was closing and started slaughtering and drawing defenders.

It didn’t help them that Arthas was using his own necromantic power to immediately bring the Ghouls back as Skeletons and the various skeletons that fell to combine into different larger more durable skeletons and even a few skeletal versions of Abominations to press forward. Jaina also helped by calling numerous water elementals to the bridge and letting them strike out at the enemy. The Meat Wagons fired on the towers and defenses while also hitting the gate doors to ensure they couldn’t close off the city.

However, the Elves were nothing if not determined and managed to close the gates most of the way before the mechanism broke. Naturally, the Elves that were running the gate abandoned it and instead moved to fighting the undead invading their city.

The poor fools joined the fight just in time for the Abominations to slam into the gates forcing them open and allowing the full horde of undead to rush in with screams of pain and terror and roars of the undead filling the air along with the sound of combat and corpses being feasted on.

Naturally, this also had the Gargoyles, Crypt Fiends, Necromancers, and Banshees entering the fray with the Gargoyles providing support from the air with the Crypt Fiends bringing the aerial enemies to the ground. The Necromancers were slower in joining the fray as they were turning various corpses into Ghouls, skeletons, or Abominations to further attack the Elven defenders. The Banshees moved carefully as, while they could fight in their current state, their greater purpose was to take over new bodies for them to use as they pleased and serve their lord as flesh once again while utilizing any new skills and capabilities they gained from their new bodies.

Once in their new bodies, they’d have not only their previous talents, possession notwithstanding, and any new ones that their new body had making them more versatile and useful to their lord. Plus, them taking some of the Elven bodies technically meant more Elves would be alive after this. Their lord didn’t want all the Elves dead, just the assholes and those magically corrupted to the point it was better they be killed than spared. Once the Sunwell was corrupted, they’d either be driven mad from the loss of their main source of magic to drain/eat, they’d drink from the well still and corrupt themselves into who knows what atrocities and horrors, or perhaps even worse they’d delve into Fel magic and start bonding to demons to give them more magical power. Such a thing was too risky, better to be merciful and put them down before they could spiral into madness or worse.

Back to Arthas, he watched as his forces fully entered the gates and nodded to a mortar team, who promptly launched a flare into the air as Arthas and his group marched on the gate.

Uther and Muradin, seeing the flare, immediately drew back and threw their hammers at the gates causing a large shockwave that cracked and rocked the gate before it began to crumble and Uther unleashed the undead with him and they charged in like a pack of rabid animals. Uther and Muradin just waited with their forces as the undead charged in drawing fire from magical towers and the few defenders who remained at their post. Of course, against a horde there was no stopping them with such small numbers and too many were on the west end fighting to know that the south was breached until it was already too late due to the pincer movement being fully executed.

Once they saw that the Undead weren’t getting mowed down anymore and were pressing further in, Muradin and Uther led their forces forward while letting the Necromancers begin raising the corpses up as more soldiers to send into the fray and wear down the Elven defenses and fighters. While normally, both would be against this sort of tactic, they also knew this was just the tip of the spear for the fight so better to let the easily replaced cannon fodder be killed and worn down over their soldiers. There would still be fighting done even with the horde launching into the enemy, but it wouldn’t be as severe and they’d lose fewer people this way which meant they’d have more warriors handy to fight the next fight.

Their warriors could learn, grow, get better at fighting, and learn to adapt and think on their feet. The undead, for the most part, were mindless and won through sheer numbers and ferocity, not skill or tactics and they didn’t get better at fighting or killing as they went on. So they were being utilized how they best could be: swarming an enemy and bringing them down while giving their more competent fighters more bodies to bring up their numbers. Arthas and them provided the intelligence for their attack patterns while the undead merely ravaged and destroyed like they did best.

Best of both worlds.

Anyway, once they passed the gate, Uther and Muradin joined the attack with their forces routing out all the Elves. They didn’t have to worry much about who they killed, Sylvanas had a few agents within the city moving the innocent people somewhere safe so that they wouldn’t be killed or harmed and could be gathered again by Prince Kael’Thas Sunstrider, when said prince eventually came to investigate rumors of his homeland being attacked. With luck, the prince wasn’t arcane drunk and sinking into madness like his father had, though Arthas believed he wouldn’t as Kael was stronger than his father and would keep his people in check until such a time that Arthas could speak to him and possibly persuade him to join them.

Kael had been speaking out against his people using the Sunwell so much for decades only to be ignored or shot down by his father and the other chief advisors. Some even going so far as to say Kael was blaspheming and disrespecting their traditions and the policies of the Elves and their kingdom. Despite what many people think, Kael wasn’t sent to the Kirin Tor to learn more magic and improve relations, it was to put Kael into a place so deeply saturated in magic that by the time he returned he’d be fine with taking in more magic and feeding the hunger and loss from leaving that city. Of course, King Anasterian Sunstrider had been trying to get more of the well’s waters into the city to slowly saturate the city, the waters, the ground, and the forest in magic so no matter where in their domain you went there was magic in the air to feed off of.

Of course no one other than an Elf could be in their land to experience such magical power, it was theirs and theirs alone, no one else could have it or experience it.

And some of them wondered why other races thought they were assholes with sticks shoved up their asses.

Anyway, with Kael away and no doubt learning magic rather than absorbing the magical energy of Dalaran, there was a leader that could keep the Elves going in the proper way until Arthas could fully get in touch with him. Arthas and Kael had a bit of a rivalry in Arthas’ early years, but it had become a mutual respect and friendship later on. Kael, Arthas, Jaina, and Sylvanas had all had extensive talks about the problems in their respective kingdoms and areas mostly to vent to the others and get someone to understand their perspective and problems. This let them bond further as they did have people who understood and sympathized with the problems and they had agreed to try and fix the issues when they came into positions of authority that would allow them to do so.

Though, none of them had ever thought Arthas would be sacking Quel’Thalas let alone at the head of an undead army while doing so “under the orders” of a demon and with a ghost of a Necromancer speaking in his ear as he did.

Yeah, life never goes the way you plan for it to nor can you predict how things will go.

Uther then broke from his thoughts as he blocked a sword strike from an attacker and forced them back. Getting a better look at said attacker, Uther saw it was Anasterian’s right hand man: Thalorien Dawnseeker. Said man/Elf was using one of two rare blades of the High Elves that rumors state they took from cousins across the sea: Quel’Delar, the blade of the sun. Quel’Delar was a one handed curved Runeblade similar to a scimitar that could be wielded one handed easily or you could use two hands to give more force. The blade was also surrounded in a faint golden electrical glow with the runes being the same color and a blue jewel in the guard glowing faintly.

Uther wasn’t intimidated though, Thalorien was renowned mainly for having Quel’Delar and killing Troll invaders during one of the early wars. Uther had faced a lot more than just Trolls and had been in fights recently and hadn’t been lazing away in the comfort of a castle for decades. Uther would be surprised if Thalorien had faced anything more than some simple raids by other forest natives. Hell, he may not have even faced that and just stayed inside the city sending others to put down the threats.

Utter broke from his musings as Thalorien spoke, “You dare come to these sacred lands, human! You will pay for your insolence.” Thalorien spoke with venom in his “holier than though” tone.

Utter merely waved Muradin and the others forward while he dealt with Thalorien. “Insolence? That’s a strong word coming from a man who was gave of a pledge to help the Alliance against different threats, only to turn your back on us when we are dealing with “human” problems as your so called righteous king called them.” Uther stated making Thalorien snarl at him before he charged and Uther’s hammer clashed with Thalorien’s sword.

“Just because we’re allies doesn’t mean that every fight you people get into will be joined by us! Why should we sacrifice our people for problems you yourselves cause?!? None can touch us within these woods and with the power of the Sunwell for us to command, we are invincible!” Thalorien shouted as he and Uther clashed and Thalorien was getting angrier that this old human was keeping up with him. Him! The man that was second only to the king and prince and even then Thalorien knew he was a better fighter than the prince.

Kael didn’t have the stomach for war, he’d rather make peace and gain allies. Bah! Peace and allies were for the weak! What good were inferior allies except for when they needed cannon fodder and bodies to throw at their enemies?!? Any in this so called alliance should be glad if they sent even _one_ of their own to help them, one of their own was worth thousands of them. They were the holders of the Sunwell and they had a kingdom that long surpassed the Humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, or anyone else, so why should they bend the knee or offer support to those that were inferior?!?

It was bad enough the old coots in Dalaran kept wanting to come to their kingdom and investigate the Sunwell and their woods. As if they’d let any other race defile their magic! If Dalaran wanted to see the Sunwell they had better be ready to swear fealty and loyalty to them to be even allowed to glimpse it! Everything in their woods was theirs and no one could take that. All the fountains, springs, and pools that could heal or restore mana, all the creatures dwelling within it, the trees themselves, even the very air within was theirs and no one else’s! None had any right to it unless they had Elven blood in their veins and were loyal to Silvermoon over everyone else!

Thalorien broke from his inner ravings as he took a vicious backhand to his face making him stumble before a hammer blow to his arm and side sent him crashing back with a shout of pain. “Hmph, this was rather boring.” Uther stated as he readied his warhammer to end the fool.

However, before he could crush his opponent, a teleportation spell was used and Thalorien vanished making Uther grunt in annoyance. Uther then turned his attention to the side and saw several knights heading for him. Uther merely snorted before he attached his hammer to his back and drew his sword and funneled mana into it before three dragon whelps appeared, a red, a yellow, and a black. The three whelps roared before they charged the attackers and Uther readied his sword before he charged as well.

Nearby, Muradin was facing his own enemies as different rangers were aiming for him over anyone else. Not that Muradin cared really, as it meant more of his warriors survived the fight and more of the enemy fell faster. Maya was right beside him cutting down any and all enemies with the two working in unison and harmony to strike down different enemies. Muradin then turned as another squad of knights were coming for them and slammed his hammer on the ground causing a fissure to appear and the knights fell in with screams of pain and agony following soon after. Muradin then turned and launched a **Stormbolt** at a Dragonhawk rider sending the Dragonhawk and the rider plummeting to the ground.

He and Maya then charged to where combat was still in progress while some of their warriors began looting the area and flushing out any hidden enemies.

With Arthas, he was casually cutting down different attackers and occasionally sending a tornado out from his blade. Naturally, the tornados were scattering and tossing enemies all over the place and leaving them easy prey for his warriors to take them. It didn’t hurt his frost powers were enhanced not just by the Orb of Frost but also from Frostmourne itself. Hence why a quick burst of his hand had a **Frost Nova** springing up under the next group of attackers either encasing them in ice or skewering them with it.

It was also a bit interesting when he struck enemies as they got frost, flame, and lightning damage on them as well as being slowed. At times it was very effective as the frost would hit, then the flame would hit melting the frost, and then the lightning would hit and the water from the melted frost would conduct the lightning to harm the target even more, which was even worse if the enemy was wearing metal armor.

Near him, Jaina was using a good sized portion of her mana to create Water Elementals and Skeletons to further wear down the enemy before them. She was also destroying towers and other higher threat enemies with her spells and magics and ensuring none of the enemy flanked her and her love.

Of course, they were also still being reinforced from the main bases as the Acolytes would summon more graveyards from Northrend and their territory on this continent for the Necromancers to bring up more Skeletons and Ghouls before the Acolytes would send the graveyards back to be refilled. There were piles of dead in both Lordaeron and Northrend to be used and plenty of crypts and graveyards to summon and send back to be refueled. The dead that weren’t brought back on this campaign would be piled up and ready to fill graveyards and crypts to be summoned as needed to give more advance forces for their Lord.

Well, so long as his Elven forces allowed it, if not then they could kill the local Trolls and add those corpses.

Ner’zhul had signed off on this method as he was pleased with his champion being so ruthless and cunning. Let the weak and pathetic corpses that wouldn’t grow stronger take up the fight against the enemies while his trained and living soldiers were ready to fight afterwards. Sure, it could be seen as cowardice as they should be ready to embrace their deaths for the glory of their lord, but then what do you do to make up for the skill you’re losing in the process? Sure some could become Death Knights or other higher class undead warriors, but not all and then they go from being skilled warriors to lesser undead that couldn’t hold a candle to how they originally were.

No, better to have the trained warriors fight after the outer layer of defenses crumbled to ensure they could fight where it mattered and grow more competent and stronger in their victories. It wasn’t like they were going to run out of corpses to use for their armies any time soon anyway, so why not get the full use out of the trained warriors before their eventual deaths? Besides, they could get stronger and more competent with each battle survived, the undead remained the same unless they were higher tier like a Death Knight or a Lich.

There was also the fact that the stronger the being was before becoming an undead, the stronger they could be as one. Arthas was by far the most powerful Death Knight Ner’zhul had ever seen and look at his power before he was converted. It was why Arthas was keeping the Necromancers among the middle of the army so they could support and attack but also use more of their necrotic spells to grow stronger so if one could be brought back as a Lich then they’re power would grow into greater heights. The more magical power they had, the more unholy and necromantic magic could be poured into them to bring them back. Same principle with warriors as the greater the fighting spirit the greater chance of converting into a Death Knight regardless of how much magical power they held within them.

So, Ner’zhul wasn’t going to counter or interfere with Arthas’ methods since he was slowly gaining new warriors and magi that could become even greater undead warriors when they eventually fell. While he was a bit annoyed at Arthas not converting all of the enemy soldiers into the stronger undead, he also understood some of the logic behind it. Arthas’ living forces would obey him fully no matter what anyone else tried to do, whereas the undead could be counter commanded by either Ner’zhul himself or Archimonde and Kil’Jaeden when they arrived on Azeroth. Given the fact that Arthas already assumed something was off about the Dreadlords and such, it was a good idea to have a standing force that wouldn’t follow someone else’s orders and thus ensured he also had support no matter what. Plus it weakened his enemies power with them having less powerful servants to use immediately, which meant they had to rely on the demons and take losses as well.

Ner’zhul knew the moment Archimonde or Kil’Jaeden was on Azeroth, they and the Dreadlords would take control of the Scourge and begin doing things their way, which was why Arthas had already sent competent soldiers and warriors across the sea to Kalimdor with them rounding up any other supporters he had. Arthas would let the demons run rampant and kill all of the remaining people as they didn’t deserve life or a chance at mercy in Arthas’ eyes, so he was saving those that could be useful and had given their loyalty truly. Ner’zhul didn’t care, no reason to have an empire of corpses when the living could supply more bodies for the army later whether through their death, killing enemies, or through breeding more mortals.

Plus, Arthas was drawing power and strength from each of his warriors and subjects that he converted into his Shadow Warriors. They were each funneling strength to him and he in turn was funneling power and the cycle just continued to grow the longer each one was in his service. Naturally, his commanders were giving off and receiving the most out of the cycle. That was fine though, a King needed strong subordinates to work with and support him against his enemies and if he was getting stronger through them getting stronger, then all the better.

Yes, Arthas was shaping up to be all that Ner’zhul was promised and more. Soon, he would see Archimonde and the other demons fall before him and the Scourge claiming all of the enemies and demons as their food and sacrifices.

However, first, the Elves had to be dealt with.

Near Arthas, Falric was cutting down or smashing any attacker that got close with his sword and shield. He was converted into a Shadow Knight by his lord, but had yet to test out anything besides his improved speed and strength. Not out of fear, mind you, just lack of understanding how to utilize whatever it was he gained from his lord’s power. Though some of his lord’s auras seemed to have stuck to him even if he was out of range of Arthas. Falric didn’t know if he was triggering it or if it was just natural, but didn’t have time to ponder or worry about it right now.

Beside him, Rane was using her spears and javelins to ensure none of the aerial attackers got too close since the Crypt Fiends were a bit spread out at the moment and she wasn’t going to chance it. Besides, she had some aggression to work out against these arrogant pricks since she couldn’t count the number of times different Elves had looked down on her for being a Human and they were an Elf. Granted, she appreciated and respected her Elven comrades, but the other Elves as a whole were assholes and she wouldn’t shed a tear over them falling in combat.

She did feel bad about them becoming undead, that seemed like a horror no one should have to face, but the fools brought it on themselves.

Back with Arthas, he turned as he saw fire rain down on a group of his undead and saw King Anasterian there using his prowess as a warrior mage to bring down a lot of undead while also teleporting some of his warriors away. _“No doubt taking them to the Sunwell to recuperate and drink heavily from the waters. Probably in the belief that his fanatics and zealots can overcome any number of enemies if they have direct access to the well’s waters and the magic flowing out of it.”_ Arthas thought finding that while reasonable, as the waters did strengthen you, was also costly as it became addicting and you had to keep drinking the water to keep the high of having such magic running through your body.

Not that Anasterian cared since they had the well, why not use it and damn the consequences?

Of course, all the fighting and chaos stopped as Arthas stood across from Anasterian and the two merely looked at the other with Frostmourne radiating death and cold around Arthas and Anasterian’s blade, Felo’melorn or Flamestrike, radiating some heat with the two blades themselves seeming to be eager to clash against the other. However, Arthas noted that Anasterian’s blade didn’t seem to have the radiance and power that it was rumored to have. _“Could the blade be rebelling against him? I wonder if Kael has felt a pull from it.”_ Arthas thought wondering if Anasterian’s hunger and corruption had finally cost him his weapon of choice.

Arthas then broke from his thoughts as Anasterian launched a wave of fire that Arthas countered with a wave of ice and the two waves fought for supremacy before Arthas’ won out and Anasterian dodged at the last minute. “Kill these intruders! If nothing else, buy time for the Kingsguard and myself to gain the Sunwell’s power!” Anasterian shouted before he teleported himself and a few others away.

“Coward. Leaves his people to the slaughter because he fears his own mortality.” Arthas spat knowing he could have teleported more of his people to the Sunwell, but decided to add more meat shields between him and Arthas. Arthas then turned his attention back to the current situation as some of the still fanatical and zealot Elves readied to engage him before he stabbed Frostmourne into the ground and drew Blood Cleaver before throwing it at the enemies. He then drew Leechbane and threw it into a priest that was preparing a holy spell and then grabbed Frostmourne to charge at the attackers, which was thinned from the buzz saw that was Blood Cleaver.

Naturally, the rest of Arthas’ group charged as well and renewed the fighting.

It took another hour to get through the fanatical resistance of the Elves before they reached the palace, which was the fastest route to the Sunwell island. It was also there that Arthas and his commanders all regrouped while the warriors scavenged the city, though they also left some to be used to rebuilt by Kael when he eventually returned to the city and gathered the survivors that didn’t join Arthas, though Arthas hoped Kael could straighten out the few fanatics that Arthas had no doubt slipped through the cracks of his invasion.

As for why they were stopped at the palace, it was because there was currently a fight going on… and it wasn’t any of Arthas’ forces. It seemed to be a small civil war between the Elves. The left side was filled with a mixed amount of what they had been fighting before while the right side was mainly a mixture of rangers, knights, and what looked like Paladins.

Arthas and his group moved to help the right side for one very clear reason: Sylvanas’ sisters were on that side of the fighting. This also had the benefit that the opposing side was trying to kill Arthas over anyone else so they were easily cut down by the various soldiers and warriors in their blind rage and hatred.

Once all the opposing forces were handled, Arthas turned to address Alleria and Vereesa only for them to tackle them in a hug causing him to stumble before he laughed and hugged them back. The two then pulled back and kissed his cheek before they hugged Jaina and Sylvanas as well, “Good to see you two are still alive and fighting.” Arthas stated with a small smile as he saw his two sister figures smiling.

Arthas then idly looked to his left to see Sylvanas there smiling with her sisters Vereesa and Alleria, two other Ranger leaders with Alleria being a general and Vereesa was a captain. This was partly due to Alleria and Sylvanas being older than Vereesa since Alleria was the oldest by at least a couple hundred years and Sylvanas was next by about a hundred over Vereesa. He noted with no small amount of amusement that Vereesa seemed to be interested in Uther and wondered how he’d handle this situation especially when Minerva was reunited with them.

“Glad you could finally show up.” Alleria stated making Arthas break from his observations and raise his hands.

“Did you get the others to safety?” Sylvanas asked making Alleria and Vereesa nod.

“Yes, they are within the palace with the constructs and magic keeping them safe.” Alleria stated making them nod.

“Good, that should hold out especially with the stores and stock within until our job here is finished.” Arthas stated making them nod since while Anasterian was an asshole, he knew to stockpile and keep the palace and supply stores full at all times in case the worst somehow came about.

His great plan was that if somehow someway someone ever did reach Silvermoon, they could hold out for years if necessary while harassing any attackers with their great magic and fuel themselves further with the Sunwell to destroy all who opposed them.

He just never anticipated a large army of undead led by competent and powerful warriors that included their own kin or that some of his fiercest warriors would turn against him. It also didn’t help that Arthas and his commanders were far stronger than he ever anticipated and weren’t shy about crushing everyone in their way as it became necessary.

Arthas did feel bad about the destruction wrought on the forest as it was a peaceful and wonderous place with the magic in the air being both riveting and terrifying. The beasts and creatures of the woods were pleasant to be around and one could even pet a bear or mountain cat without fear of harm at one time, but no longer. The magic within Quel’Thalas was corrupting and twisting the creatures and the beings within it to the point they were no longer the original creatures or entities, just crazed magically fueled beasts.

Well, most of them were, some like Alleria and Vereesa hadn’t been corrupted simply because they refused to feed so heavily on magic and didn’t drink from the Sunwell’s waters repeatedly. The same was true with Kael and some others as well.

Arthas then turned his attention to the others that were with Alleria and Vereesa and saw that the paladins looked a bit different from the others. He also noticed a woman among them with a commanding presence. She had glowing gold eyes, sun kissed red hair, fair skin, and black painted lips while having a glowing amber pendant around her neck. Her attire consisted of a long crimson gown with gold accents with a black tabard over her torso that was emblazoned with a blood red pair of phoenix wings around a diamond. Her legs up to her waist were in red plate with gold accents, same with her shoulders. Her hands were in black plate gauntlets with gold accents and she had two wing like protrusions from her pauldrons that were pointed straight up and were silver with the backsides being black with gold accents.

Her equipment was a large plate kite shield with a phoenix head and was spilt at the top to give the idea of feathers and the phoenix head was looking at all before her with piercing glowing gold eyes. Her sword almost resembled an enlarged sea cutlass only it was more intimidating as a silver blade with golden glowing accents and the aura around it screamed fire and power. Towards the base of the blade were three ground in grooves with large points between each groove and the back had a notch ground in with two large hooks on each side, no doubt to catch on the way in with a thrust and to pull out when withdrawing the blade. The base of the blade just above the guard was a glowing golden gem thrumming with power and there was another in the pommel encased in gold but the glow still came through. The handle was a simply black leather wrapped one with enough room to use single or double handed if necessary.

All in all, she looked like a fierce and powerful warrior, but there was also the fact her mana and presence, it screamed that of a priestess if not a High Priestess. _“Something happened to this woman. One doesn’t simply leave the religious path and not have a reason for it.”_ Arthas thought looking the woman over and saw she was doing the same to him.

“Arthas, meet Lady Liadrin, the captain of the Blood Knights.” Alleria stated seeing the two staring the other down.

“Blood Knights?” Jaina asked and Alleria nodded.

“Priests, Priestesses, and other holy members that took up the way of the sword as well. Paladins in a sense, but they are more… brutal I suppose is the best way to describe them.” Alleria stated and a few of the Blood Knights nodded since it was true enough.

“Sounds like some of our own warriors nowadays.” Uther supplied knowing that the few lesser Paladins that had joined them were more brutal and at times blood thirsty, but not so much they couldn’t rein themselves in and keep from going too far.

“Indeed.” Arthas stated still staring down Liadrin and many felt it was like two alpha creatures staring down the other to see who was better.

“Love, we have to go.” Jaina stated wanting to remind her lover that they still had to go to the Sunwell.

Arthas merely nodded before turning to his sister figures, “The Sunwell will be ruined after this, so your choices will be to stay here until Kael comes back or you can come with us.” Arthas stated making them nod as Arthas and his group prepared to push towards the shortest area to cross to Quel’Danas, the isle that the Sunwell rested upon.

However, Liadrin stood in front of him making Arthas look at her while Shadow was by his side watching the possible threat to his master. The two stayed like that before Liadrin saluted him and nodded making him raise an eyebrow, “Well, come on then.” Arthas stated making her nod as they set out of the area and Liadrin ordered her knights to stay and guard the palace.

It took about 20 minutes to reach the coast and the isle of Quel’Danas was within sight and Arthas drew Frostmourne before pulling back and doing a sweeping uppercut at the water. The thing that surprised everyone was a burst of frost to launch out and form an ice bridge from the main land to the isle. Arthas then pointed forward and the Skeletal warriors that Jaina continued to summon, thanks to the _Rod of Necromancy_ she picked up a long while ago, charged across the bridge while Arthas, his commanders, and Liadrin followed.

When rain of fire and meteors started heading for them, Jaina merely swiped her staff sending the water up to block said items and then threw the rocks back at the isle. A few skeletons were hit, but not enough to matter and those that fell in the water would corrupt it slowly while keeping the bridge safe. Jaina didn’t care though as she kept blocking the incoming spells.

The fire eventually stopped and Arthas and his group finished crossing as Anasterian ran out of mana to keep launching spells, which meant he was back to drinking the waters to improve his power and refill his reserves. Arthas then sent the skeletons throughout the island while Muradin and Maya went left with Marwyn going with them, Uther and Liadrin went right with Rane going with them, Sylvanas went down the center of the island with Echidna and Serafina following her, and Arthas and Jaina went another route followed by Falric..

Each of them found some counter attackers but Uther was again facing Thalorien Dawnseeker. Uther narrowed his eyes while Liadrin and Rane moved out of his way and started fighting the other Blood Elf addicts that were with Thalorien. “You won’t be so lucky this time, fool.” Thalorien stated and Uther snorted as he kept his sword ready.

“I’m not the one who ran away like a coward in the face of losing.” Uther stated making Thalorien snarl before the two charged and began to clash blade against blade.

Uther easily blocked each strike Thalorien sent at him with Thalorien quickly learning that even with the Sunwell’s waters in his body, he couldn’t overpower Uther and he apparently couldn’t out speed him either. Uther then backhanded the Elven warrior when they locked blades again causing Thalorien to stumble back before he was cut in his side making him howl in pain, though there wasn’t much blood loss due to the freezing aura Uther had from _Frostguard_. Uther merely stood there with his blade ready as Thalorien charged magic around himself and his blade and roared before charging at Uther again.

Uther kept blocking with little trouble and was honestly disappointed with how this fight was going as he thought there would still be some honor in facing Thalorien as his legendary prowess and skill was known by many as well as the fact the blade he used was equally as well known. However, he was feeling cheated as the opponent before him was nothing like the person of legends or the rumored skilled swordsman that was revered and respected among the Elves.

He seemed more like a drunkard holding a blade than a veteran warrior.

Then again, that wasn’t that far off since he was magically drunk and hoped it would give him more power and skill to best Uther, but it wasn’t doing anything like that at all. The more he wasn’t winning, the sloppier Thalorien was losing any sense of form or discipline to the point Uther believed a fresh Paladin just inducted into the Silver Hand Order could best him.

Locking blades again, Uther finally had enough and swept his sword up sending Thalorien’s blade into the air… along with his arm causing Thalorien to scream in pain and drop to his knees. Uther then spun around him and caught Quel’Delar in his hand before he stabbed backwards, stabbing Thalorien through his chest with both blades, “Pathetic.” Uther sighed before tearing the blades out and tossing Thalorien’s arm to the side.

He then turned to see Liadrin looking at the corpse in pity before she shook her head and she, Rane, and Uther began heading further in towards the Sunwell knowing there were still dozens if not hundreds of Blood Elf addicts still on the isle. Uther also sheathed Quel’Delar and kept his own blade out and ready as they ran, no sense leaving a blade of that quality on this isle to waste away.

With Muradin, he had encountered Dar’khan Drathir and his own band of brigands. Dar’khan was a Magister for the Elves dating back to when the Elves first settled here and was the most experienced living Elf in using the Sunwell’s powers and twisting them to aid his race over all others. Many thought he wanted the Grand Magister position more than anything, but that was false. He wanted to be the chief user and controller of the Sunwell, which Anasterian allowed with only him and his Kingsguard having superior access to keep them strong and for Dar’khan to find new ways to empower the Elves and use the waters of the Sunwell to further their glory and power.

His brigands were some of the cruelest and bitterest of the Elves as well as the most magically hungry, which made them desperate and easy to control and manipulate as they were used for his tests and experiments with using the well’s waters. Some of the Elves on Arthas’ side even stated there were rumors of several of them being twisted and corrupted and Dar’khan kept them for further study or to unleash on the other kingdoms and see how well they did against different fighting forces.

A sick man that should be put down and Muradin planned to do just that.

Nodding to Maya and Marwyn, Muradin had his hammer and sword and approached Dar’khan, who had a spear like staff with the golden jewel on top sharpened to be the spear head. Muradin wasn’t a fool though, he knew that item was both a magical conduit and a physical weapon to do harm to anyone he faced in combat. Unfortunately for Dar’khan, he had never faced someone like Muradin Bronzebeard before.

Muradin also made a note of the blade Dar’khan had on his waist and seemed to Quel’Delar, but instead of gold it was giving off a pale blue glow and not the warmth of the sun that Quel’Delar did. Muradin could only assume it was the sister blade of Quel’Delar, Quel’Serrar: The Blade of the Moon. Muradin was confused though since rumors stated the blade was broken, but perhaps that was just the public story and Anasterian was keeping it hidden. It wouldn’t surprise Muradin if both Quel’Delar and Quel’Serrar were being soaked in the Sunwell’s waters for long periods of time to try and increase their power.

Muradin broke from his musings as he saw Dar’khan twirling his weapon and grinning a sickening smile, “Ah, a Dwarf. I’ve yet to test my experiments on a Dwarf before and I even get two! A male and a female! How exciting.” Dar’khan stated with a mad grin on his face as his eyes glowed.

Muradin though narrowed his eyes at this fool daring to say he’d touch Maya in such a way. Muradin then charged and Dar’khan cackled in mad glee as he launched a curse at Muradin, who just charged right through thanks to his _Amulet of Spell Shield_ negating the spell. Muradin had never been one for trinkets or bobbles, but he wasn’t going to complain about having that amulet when this kind of situation was going on.

Dar’khan frowned seeing his spell not work and quickly blocked a sword strike from Muradin and then leaned out of the way of a hammer attack. However, he mistook the hammer strike for a normal one and learned his mistake when the hammer hit the ground and a loud noise occurred before a shockwave sent him back hard and disoriented him. Muradin then threw a **Stormbolt** at the man, who raised his staff to block believing his magical power would protect him.

However, he misjudged again as the **Stormbolt** slammed into his staff and cracked it and it was then broken as Muradin then threw his sword forward, cutting the staff and lodging the blade in Dar’khan’s chest dropping the man to the ground. Muradin merely walked up to the now corpse of the man and withdrew his sword before looking at the staff.

The crystal looked useful, so Muradin snapped it off the staff and pocketed it before grabbing the blade he assumed was Quel’Serrar. Once it was sheathed on his back, he went and helped Maya and Rane finish off the brigands.

Once the small mob was dead, Muradin and his companions pressed in feeling magical power growing near the Sunwell. That was saying something since none of them were attuned to sense magic, so if they were sensing it then things were possibly about to get difficult.

Off in another area, Sylvanas was encountered by Thal’ena Longstride daughter of Lana’thel Longstride another of the… overzealous members of the ranger corps who also regularly practiced magic and began to consider herself a mage of all things, as if. Lana’thel was no more a mage than Sylvanas was a Banshee Queen intent on wiping out any and all Humans within her chosen territory. She had some skill in magic, but we’re talking maybe having a few spells handy that could be used fully and this was with her drinking Sunwell water a LOT to boost her power and magic.

She just didn’t have the talent like many of Sylvanas’ kin did, but she by far had the hunger. Maybe even more hunger than most of the other Elves barring only Anasterian and Dar’khan.

Regardless, her daughter had more skill in magic but had ALL of the arrogance and cockiness that her mother did if not more because she could surpass her mother since she was born from such “greatness” as they both called it. Somehow they had convinced Anasterian that they were of high potential and were granted access to the Sunwell Isle and there was even talk that Anasterian was going to have Thal’ena marry Kael to unite the powerful bloodlines.

Naturally, both would have drunk heavily from the Sunwell before attempting to conceive a child of their union and Thal’ena would continue drinking all throughout her pregnancy. Never mind what damage the magical properties of the well could do to a fetus and unborn child since it was “acceptable” if even one child survived the process and became the next prodigy and all powerful Elven ruler to fully cement their legacy and power over Quel’Thalas and then further beyond.

Personally, Sylvanas had wanted to put an arrow into all of them except for Kael, since he wanted no part of it, but Sylvanas never had the chance. At least… not until now that is. Sure, she didn’t get to shoot all of her targets, but she’d at least get one… or maybe she’d stab or cut her up to end her life.

Either way, Sylvanas was going to get some catharsis out of this.

“Well, well, well, the ranger whore shows her true colors at last huh? And with a pair of big breasted bimbos too.” Thal’ena stated with a cocky tone with a sneer on her face while Echidna and Serafina were moving to handle Thal’ena’s “apprentices” in combat.

Yeah, that was another thing too, Thal’ena and Lana’thel were as flat as a board both in the chest and in the ass departments and were very… touchy about it. It didn’t help that LITERALLY every other female Elf had bigger breasts and butts than them no matter how many “magical enhancements” the two did to try and change that. Each enhancement being a failure, obviously.

“Says the whore who gladly spreads her legs for the chance to have more of the Sunwell’s water.” Sylvanas countered making Thal’ena glare while scowling.

“You’ll pay for that!” Thal’ena growled before casting a fireball at Sylvanas, but the fireball wasn’t impressive when compared to Jaina’s, which was why she just had to lean to the side to dodge it. Sylvanas then fired three arrows at her causing Thal’ena to throw up a shield of fire only for one arrow to be too low for her shield to block, which caused it to fly by and cut her leg making her hiss.

However, she had to move as more arrows came her way, so she rolled to the side only to have her cloak and dress torn from the arrows snagging them. Sylvanas then charged up an arrow with her mana and then fired it and Thal’ena brought up a shield to block it, but the arrow exploded against said shield throwing her back as the shield failed miserably. Thal’ena tumbled away as she tried to orient herself only to scream as an arrow was shot through her hand pinning her to the ground.

The pain blocked out her focus, which was why Sylvanas was able to shot another three arrows into her chest letting her fall back to the ground. Sylvanas merely knocked another arrow and waved Echidna and Serafina to follow her since they were done with the few other zealots that Thal’ena had with her.

With Jaina and Arthas, they had encountered Lana’thel Longstride and Jaina merely waved Arthas on while she and the “mage” before her were going to fight. Falric was going to follow Arthas, but his lord motioned him to stay and help Jaina if she needed it while he and Shadow went further in.

Standing calmly with her hand on her staff, she could see Lana’thel sneering at her, “Well, the Human wench thinks she’s a mage.” Lana’thel stated and Jaina rolled her eyes since Lana’thel had less magic than an initiate at Dalaran did. Maybe if she trained for another few decades, Lana’thel would be initiate level and could go to Dalaran to learn, though Jaina knew her pride and arrogance wouldn’t allow it unless someone in Dalaran played to her ego in hopes of getting access to the Sunwell.

“Says the male looking female, who not only fails to get another lover after her first and only one but also calls herself a mage with barely any power to back it up.” Jaina countered while Lana’thel scowled at her and both ignored the sound of Falric fending off the zealots that’s were with Lana’thel.

Lana’thel then sent a fireball at Jaina, who casually smacked it with her staff causing it to disperse into embers with Jaina looking bored. Lana’thel scowled further and then launched a blizzard at Jaina, who merely brought up her staff and fire shield sprung up and blocked the frozen assault and then morphed the water from it into a water elemental that began attacking Lana’thel. Lana’thel cursed and dodged the attacks before launching a bolt of lightning at the elemental causing it to disperse, but now she was panting from exertion and mana exhaustion while Jaina was fresh as a daisy.

Lana’thel scowled further finding it unfair that this human bitch had such magical talent that surpassed her own! She was a High Elf, she was one of those blessed with he Sunwell, she was the one drinking and taking in as much magical power as she could every day, she was the one training to increase her power and skill! What had this woman done to deserve such power?!? That power should be hers and her daughter’s! Not some pathetic Human’s!

What right did a human have to such magical power and talent?!? Why should she be given that power while Lana’thel had to practically fight and bleed to get her magical reserves up at all?!?!

Scowling still, Lana’thel uncorked a bottle of liquid and drank it feeling her reserves surge back while Jaina just stood there impassively. Lana’thel then launched a, what she considered to be, large fireball at Jaina before firing an ice spear and lightning bolt too. Jaina merely formed a water shield blocking the fireball before she then used the now boiling/steaming water to block the spear causing it to melt and then absorbed the lighting with the water. Jaina then threw it at Lana’thel. Lana’thel tried to dodge but the water was too wide and too fast and she was hit with the electrified water causing her to scream as the electricity surged through her. Jaina then pointed her staff at her and had her magic grab her in a tight hold before she began slamming her into the ground, the buildings nearby, the trees, rocks, and then finally threw her off the side of a cliff to the ground far below.

Jaina then sighed and composed herself before nodding to Falric, who had just finished off the last few zealots, before they took off to catch up with Arthas again.

Arthas, meanwhile, had reached the outskirts of the Sunwell plateau and found Anasterian there with several of his Kingsguard all armed and ready. It was also obvious that many of them had just drunk from the Sunwell and were eager to kill him for coming here. He also saw that Jaina’s skeletons had also reached the area but were handling the lesser guards that Anasterian had scattered throughout the area.

“You’re not welcome here, boy, your very presence defiles this place.” Anasterian stated with his smug superior tone in his voice with the Kingsguard all drawing their weapons and preparing for battle.

Shadow growled threateningly at the fools who would dare threaten his master while Arthas merely kept Frostmourne at the ready. “This is your last chance, get out of my way now and you can live, continue to defy me and I will destroy you.” Arthas stated and Anasterian snarled at him.

“Kill him.” Anasterian ordered making the Kingsguard advance at Arthas, who merely readied Frostmourne while drawing Leechbane to his other hand.

Arthas parried the first attacker and slit his throat with Leechbane before sending a **Frost Nova** at the rest of the charging group. Most managed to dodge it, but a few towards the center weren’t so lucky and were consequently killed. It also had the side benefit of creating a layer of frost across the ground making the Kingsguard struggle to keep their footing and advance on Arthas. It also made them easier prey for Shadow, who quickly jumped one and began mauling him.

The others decided that it wasn’t worth their time as they focused on Arthas.

The first to reach him was blocked by Leechbane before Frostmourne carved him in half with a clean sweep. Another was quickly killed by Leechbane being thrown into his skull when he tried to start casting a Paladin spell. Arthas then ducked under a lightning spell and threw Frostmourne into the attacker before he drew Stone Wrecker and his hammer and began fighting the group that managed to reach him. Those that got within his defense with his hammer quickly met the business end of Stone Wrecker and had their heads smashed regardless of if they were wearing a helmet or not.

Arthas then grunted as an arrow cut his arm making him glance and see archers going up onto the balconies of the surrounding buildings to shoot down at him. Shadow apparently saw this and rushed for one of the buildings while Arthas dropped his hammer and grabbed one attacker by the throat before throwing him into the others. Grabbing his hammer again, Arthas charged it with his mana before hurling it at the other building.

The hammer slammed into the balcony causing to exploding in flames, frost, and lightning and causing it to crumble crushing the archers and blocking the way to get up higher in the building. The other one was handled by Shadow as he clawed and bit his way through the enemies including throwing the enemies off the higher levels to their deaths. Once the building was clear, Shadow jumped down and moved to keep helping his master.

Arthas blocked another strike aimed at him before he quickly used the **Blink** power from Kelen’s Dagger of Escape to dodge a rain of fire as Anasterian decided to try and get Arthas regardless of if his own men were in the area of effect. Naturally, this meant that Arthas had a few less enemies to face, which helped him out since this was taking far too long for his liking.

Arthas then drew Blood Cleaver and quickly began to finish off the rest of the Kingsguard and then the other defenders aside from Anasterian. Though, Blood Cleaver ended up imbedded in another of the buildings with the flames lashing out and burning the attackers that were there while Stone Wrecker lived up to it’s name and smashed through the other building like it was parchment.

Arthas sighed and held Leechbane and Frostmourne ready as Anasterian approached with Felo’melorn and his staff ready to fight Arthas.

This was the scene Arthas’ allies came upon when they reached the plateau. Two kings squaring off. One power hungry and mad and the other loyal and powerful. The few surviving Elves on the isle were also watching with rapt attention to see the invader fight their king.

Arthas blocked a strike from Anasterian with Frostmourne and Felo’melorn clashing and their two auras and energies battling it out before Arthas blocked the staff with Leechbane. However, that proved a bad move for Anasterian as Arthas’ _Shield of the Deathlord_ caused flames to jump out at Anasterian, who hissed and lost his focus. Arthas then kicked the bottom of the staff causing it to snap before he headbutted Anasterian causing him to stumble.

Anasterian growled angrily as he tossed his useless staff away and held Felo’melorn with both hands while channeling mana and fire magic into the blade igniting it. Arthas merely snorted as Frostmourne began radiating a cold and death like aura around it while he dropped Leechbane into the ground.

The two then charged and clashed blades with both their auras flaring against the other and it was pretty obvious Arthas’ was stronger and more potent as it was overwhelming Anasterian the more their two blades clashed against each other. Anasterian snarled and kept fighting, channeling more and more of his so called power into his blade, but the aura and flames wouldn’t get stronger no matter how much power he put in.

It was clear to Arthas that the blade was finding Anasterian unworthy of it and was showing it’s displeasure of him possessing it. Sure, Arthas knew Frostmourne was more powerful than it, but that blade was infamous for its fire and heated aura and yet it didn’t seem like it was giving up even a moderate fight.

Anasterian though was only getting more and more pissed and enraged as he was losing ground to this pathetic mortal of a human and his damned blade that reeked of death. It was bad enough he had to have the boy in his kingdom when he was younger, but now to be losing his kingdom and soldiers to this boy was unacceptable!

Looking and seeing some of his subjects watching, Anasterian quickly used his magic on them making them cry out in pain as their skin melted off and their skeletons were consumed in flames giving birth to multiple phoenixes. The newborn phoenixes all screeched into the air before going for Arthas, who kicked Anasterian back to get some space. He then charged up Frostmourne with his power and then did a sweeping attack that sent a blast of frost at them all extinguishing their flames and encasing the cores in ice before they fell to the ground and shattered. The few that escaped were handled with a few **Death Coils** that killed them.

Arthas then turned back to Anasterian and stabbed Frostmourne into the ground freezing a small area and causing Blight to start spreading slowly as Arthas stalked towards Anasterian. Said Elven king growled and came at Arthas swinging wildly as Arthas dodged and weaved around the strikes and delivering body blows with his fists denting Anasterian’s armor with each hit. Arthas then gave him a right cross that sent Anasterian to the ground and trying to shake the cobwebs out before Arthas kicked him sending him skidding back.

Anasterian got to his knees and spat up some blood before he got back up and glared even more at Arthas before charging. Arthas then sidestepped a thrust and grabbed Anasterian’s arm and brought it over his shoulder before snapping it at the elbow making Anasterian scream in pain and drop his sword. Arthas then kicked his leg, breaking it, and causing Anasterian to fall to his knees. Arthas then grabbed the back of his head and began punching his face repeatedly breaking his nose, knocking teeth out, fracturing his skull, and breaking his jaw.

Arthas then stopped as Anasterian spat some blood and called Leechbane to his hand before stabbing up into Anasterian’s head. Arthas then snapped his neck for good measure. Arthas then let Anasterian fall to the ground and breathed deeply before sighing and calling Leechbane back to his hand feeling his magic get an added bonus.

Arthas then turned towards Felo’melorn and whistled Blaze over to him. When said horse got to him, Arthas picked up Felo’melorn and placed it on Blaze for safe keeping knowing/believing that only one person in the world was capable of using it correctly right now. Arthas then recalled all of his weapons back to him before taking the urn from Blaze’s bag and headed for the Sunwell knowing his forces had gathered some of the water while he dealt with Anasterian.

Arthas then used his magic to project his voice across all of Quel’Thalas, “Citizens of Silvermoon! I gave you ample opportunities to surrender and let me through, but you have stubbornly refused and openly defied me! Because of your actions, your once great kingdom lies in ruins and many of your kin are dead and left to rot. Know that today, because of your defiance, your dynasty comes to an end! Death itself has come to claim the high home of the Elves because of your own arrogance, stubbornness, and greed!” Arthas called before he approached the well with the urn in hand and began pouring his energies into the urn. “Now, arise, Kel'Thuzad, and serve the Lich King once again!” Arthas stated as he dumped the urn into the waters and watched as the ghost of Kel'Thuzad entered the well.

Arthas and the others then watched as the ashes and soul tainted it and caused the waters to turn putrid and the immediate surrounding area to be covered in blight.

The waters of the Sunwell then rippled as a skeletal figure came floating out with an aura of death and frost surrounding him. Kel’Thuzad had returned and he was now a Lich, **“I am reborn, as promised! The Lich King has granted me eternal life and power!”** Kel’Thuzad proclaimed in his new warped and deeper voice though he knew it was only through Arthas that such a promise was fulfilled and the Death Knight before him had more than earned his help.

Arthas merely looked the newly created Lich over and was wondering if he would indeed be worth having on his side. “I've upheld my end of the bargain, Lich. Are you ready to tell me about the Dreadlords, their masters, and their threat now?” Arthas asked and Kel’Thuzad nodded.

 **“Certainly. But not here. They have eyes and ears everywhere. We'll talk where it's safe and I can explain to you what it is that we have to deal with to be free entirely.”** Kel’Thuzad stated knowing they had to be careful where and when they talked lest the demons interfere and cause them more problems.

“Then let us go and be done with the business remaining here.” Arthas stated making Kel’Thuzad nod as Arthas mounted Blaze with Falric and Marwyn getting a few vials of the tainted waters before they began moving back to the coast.

However, when they reached the edge of the plateau, Arthas had Blaze stop and drew his hammer and began channeling both holy and unholy magic into it. “Arthas?” Jaina asked in concern before Arthas turned Blaze towards the Sunwell and hurled the hammer into the well.

The magics poured into the hammer combined with the tainted and chaotic power caused the well to become unstable and implode sending a wave of magic for miles.

The group held fast before they looked to see the waters stilled and little to no magic coming from it. “That’s one less magical well for the demons to utilize now.” Arthas stated knowing it was better that the well be gone than risk it falling into the hands of the Dreadlords and them utilizing it to empower themselves or others.

 **“A wise course of action as it was impossible to know what could happen if a demon or someone else drank those waters. Such powerful arcane energies mixed with the necromantic energies to bring me back could cause a variety of outcomes depending on who it was that drank the waters.”** Kel’Thuzad stated knowing that while it could have been useful, they couldn’t watch over the well all the time.

Arthas then flexed his hand and the shaft of his hammer returned to his hand with the head no longer there and the shaft smoldering and smoking. Arthas sighed at the loss of his trusted weapon, but at least it was lost in an important attack and not just left behind to rust. Placing the shaft on the saddle, Arthas nodded to the others to move out.

The group then began trudging back to Silvermoon, “Tell me, Lich, did you truly believe the Lich King was going to uphold his bargain if it wasn’t necessary?” Arthas asked as they reached the ice bridge and crossed.

 **“In truth? No. I did not. But he did, as such my interest align with him until I have a clear reason not to. Such as, when you make your own move to command the Scourge and beyond.”** Kel’Thuzad replied knowing the Death Knight was no pawn of the Lich King and was only doing his bidding as it benefitted him right now, but that could change easily and Kel wanted to be on the winning side when things started to get rough.

“So you aren’t as big a fool as I took you to be when I killed you.” Arthas stated and Kel actually released a laugh.

 **“Hardly. I can sense your power easily and you are fast approaching the same level as the Lich King, meaning why serve an old spirit that took his time to fulfill his promise to me over that of an individual who not only rivals him but has been making greater strides in the campaigns than anyone else?”** Kel stated and asked rhetorically knowing the Lich King couldn’t take his power away now and as such Kel could do whatever he damn well pleased and from what he saw of those siding with Arthas, doing so meant more power and strength as well as capability to crush anyone in your way.

“He’s definitely smarter than the other boneheads we’ve faced, lad.” Muradin stated with some humor knowing the other Liches were just about killing and spreading the plague and cult as far as they could.

“Indeed. If he really wants to be on the winning side, might as well have him start looking the part.” Uther stated making Arthas nod while Kel was curious.

When they reached the shore again, Arthas removed a bundle from Blaze’s saddle and handed it to Kel, who looked at it in interest before seeing a note attached to it.

_Hell, Kel’Thuzad. My name is not important right now, but just know I’m the one who had Ner’zhul pick you to be his main operator in the kingdom as well as the one that has been helping make Arthas and his group stronger. Now, I’m sure some part of you has already planned to turn on Arthas should he start to be the losing side, but I will warn you that the only way Arthas is the loser is if the entirety of Azeroth loses and Ner’zhul will take back power from each and every commander and general he has if it means giving him a body yet again should he not be able to get Arthas to take his spirit into him. Now, the latter most likely will happen, but that’s why Arthas needs more connections to capable and dependable people as well as grow his strength further so when the merge occurs Arthas’ own spirit will overwhelm Ner’zhul’s and he will assimilate the Lich King’s power into his own and give him full and sole control of the Scourge and its forces. This means he could empower or remove any power from a Lich or any undead as he pleases and even help bolster his living forces further._

_What this boils down to is simple: You side with Arthas and stay as his ally and you will have nothing to fear in the future. You betray him and your power will be stripped from you and you’ll wish for your mortal life again._

_The items within the bundle should help you in proving your worth to Arthas and keeping you capable of facing the enemies to come._

_Regards, a friend._

Kel was interested in the message and was already guessing some of what was stated. However, his curiosity was too involved with the items, so he undid the bundle. The first item he found was a darker blue leather headdress with ice like crystal and bones throughout and it reeked of death and felt cold to the touch. He then saw the description for the item: _Ice Monarch’s Headdress: Forged from ice taken from the Frozen Throne, a Frost Wyrm’s hide, and a High Necro Lord’s bones and then imbued with the all the power of the Ice Elemental: Frigaros, the Ice King. Not only will this nullify most frost, cold, or ice spells, but it empowers your spells of those same natures. It will also help with your mana capacity as well as reducing the mana needed for spells of the previously mentioned types._

Kel nodded having already seen the other high quality items Arthas and his generals held and placed the headdress on his head as it assimilated the one he was wearing. He then looked at the next bundle and saw a set of robes that were a blackish blue with bone for accents and some armor mesh The note read the following: _Robes of the Undead Lord: Robes sewn from the silk of Undead Nerubian Spiders and imbued with the power and bones of an Arch Necromancer. The robes provide protection against the weaknesses of the undead and Liches and against other Unholy energies as well as bolstering your power with magic and spells. Naturally, Necromancy, Curses, Unholy, and Death magic being the main Magics increases. The robes will repair themselves if damaged, can be used to heal other undead, and will increase your mana capacity as well as reducing the mana drain of using spells of the previously mentioned types._

Placing them over himself, Kel was satisfied as they weaved around him and formed to his body while assimilating his other robes. The next item wasn’t a bundle of potions, but a bundle of bottles that had small magical flames contained within. The note for them said the following: _Eat the Flames: Blue will increase magical power to that of three Archmagi and the powers grow the more magic used. Red is a creation that will permanently allow the body to repair minor wounds while stopping some of the more serious ones from becoming too agitating and the more fights you survive the more magical supply you will have. Silver will increase movement and casting speed. Black will increase your fighting ability and destructive spells and abilities. White will increase your beneficial spells and the auras you generate_

Kel would have grinned if his mouth could do such a thing as he quickly opened the first bottle and inhaled the flame causing it to go into his ribcage where it was assimilated by his soul and he quickly followed the same procedure for the other flames feeling his power boost and grow along with his skeletal body _._ He had one more bundle and quickly undid to find a small collection of runes and it had a note: _Runes: First will increase spell powers and control over them. Second will allow you to take souls from enemies and eat them to increase your own power and heal you faster. Third helps make your resistance to Holy Spells stronger. Fourth will allow the ability to sense magical energies with ease with the distance increasing the more the user trains in it. The fifth will empower the body; making your skeletal structure sturdier, durable, and help strengthen you against your weaknesses. Last one is important, will make it so any spells and attacks do increased damage or will give additional benefits depending on spell/attack used as well as allowing you to keep the Necromantic arts. Simply eat the parchment with the rune on it and the rune will become bound to your soul._

Kel did as instructed and felt the runes bind to his soul like the flames did and felt more of his power growing and feeling his body strengthen more and more. Kel then flexed his skeletal hands feeling the cold and power flowing through him like never before and gave a bow of respect to Arthas, **“My thanks, King Arthas, for placing your trust in me. You will not regret such an action.”** Kel stated making Arthas nod.

“See that I don’t, or you will soon join Anasterian among those that are permanently dead.” Arthas stated and Kel nodded knowing such a thing was inevitable.

Before anyone else could say anything, Falric spoke, “My Lord! Look!” Falric stated while pointing down the beach to a young woman lying in the sand.

Rushing over to her, Arthas saw she had golden hair, bronzed skin, a bronze bra-like breastplate with white half sleeves, a bronze belt with strips of cloth coming down to make the appearance of the bottom of a dress but also showed off her legs, and a bronze short sword on her waist connected to the belt. She also had golden heeled sandals and a dagger strapped to her left thigh.

“Her magical power, it’s incredible.” Jaina stated since her power was high, even stronger than Arthas and her own.

 **“She has the stench of the Red Dragonflight on her as well as old magic, yet she isn’t a dragon as I can’t sense a soul within her body.”** Kel stated finding this woman to be an enigma.

“We shouldn’t leave her here, lad, with the Trolls, undead that may not be loyal to us, and any of the Elves that still follow Anasterian’s ways lurking about, it’s too risky that they would just kill or use her for their own gains.” Uther stated making Kel and the others nod.

 **“While I know you do not wish for her to be used in such a manner, it would be better for her to be in our possession than someone else’s.”** Kel stated knowing that such power and oddity couldn’t be left alone.

“Very well.” Arthas stated dismounting Blaze to pick the woman up and get her on Blaze’s back before climbing back on to steady her, “Let’s go.” Arthas ordered as they headed back for Silvermoon to check on the survivors and then head onto the next phase of the “plan” they were following.

High above them, the great red dragon Korialstrasz watched them go, **_“I hope Lady Alexstrasza and Lord Nozdormu are right in trusting that Guardian in doing this. Anveena Teague could become just as much a threat under Arthas’ care as she would have been on her own or under Anasterian’s followers. However, I can’t interfere anymore and should she become a threat, we will have to face her and this new Human King when it becomes necessary.”_** Korialstrasz thought before flying back home knowing it was a dangerous game the two leaders were playing, but it was a game they had to play to ensure Azeroth survived.

Korialstrasz just hoped it was a game they’d survive along with Azeroth.

**DONE!**

**Whew, that took FOREVER to get done and get how I wanted it to be.**

**Lana’thel’s last name is my own creation as she has no last name in WarCraft.**

**Hope you all enjoyed, feel free to comment and follow!**

**Later!**


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